Pokémon Journey - Ryugazaki Legacy
by Winter Cheshire
Summary: Akemi Ryugazaki is the daughter of a Pokémon Professor and a trainer who travelled the world. Her big brother aims to become a professor like his mother, Akemi growing up with pokémon around her home, and she loved every minute. But when her world is thrown into chaos, she makes a decision. To go on a journey. (OC search closed for Kanto)
1. Prologue

_**Prologue: Little Princess**_

* * *

A young girl with blue hair was running around with a bunch of young growlithe with a smile on her face, soon tripping and tumbling into the side of a large arcanine with a Soothe Bell attached to a cord around its neck. "Owww…" the girl rubbed the top of her head, the arcanine staring at her a moment before licking her cheek to clean it. "Ehehehe~ Quit it, Arcana~!" she giggled, falling onto her back and letting the little growlithe flock to her. "Heyyyy, quit it that tickles~!"

"Akemi~" A melodious voice carried on the wind to where the girl was. The girl sat up, the growlithe moving away and the arcanine looking over in the direction the voice came from. "Akemi~?"

"Over here, Mama~!" she called back, Arcana standing up and barking. Soon, a woman with shimmering white hair and soft lavender eyes walked over, smiling as a Lucario with a small bag full of herbs walked over to the girl. "Hi Ruka~"

"Hello, little one." the female Lucario pat the child's head gently. "Does your head hurt?"

"No, I'm okay~ Arcana made it all better~" she giggled, hugging onto the Lucario as her mother knelt next to her. "Hi Mama~"

"Hi sweetheart~" the woman picked up Akemi and nuzzled her. "Having fun with all the pokemon?" she asked, her daughter nodding and smiling. "Well, we have a surprise for you back at the house, so let's go~"

"A surprise? Okay~!" Wrath nodded, getting up and dusting off her dress before following her mother and Ruka back to the house. A young boy with black hair waved at them from where he stood at the front door, a big luxray standing next to him. "Keiichiiii~!" Akemi launched herself at the boy, hugging him around the waist. "Keii, Mama said she has a surprise, do you know what it is?"

"Now now." The boy chuckled. "Don't spoil Mother's surprises." He said. "Go see for yourself. I'm sure you'll love it." He added, looking over his shoulder at the table inside. Akemi nodded, letting go and rushing inside, the children's mother and Ruka chuckling a little. Akemi stared at the case sitting on top of the table with wide eyes.

"Is this…? A pokemon egg?"

"Yes, it is." Ruka stated. "My second child, to be precise."

"Wow, it's Ruka's second baby?" Akemi turned to the Lucario and her mother. "Mama, is it a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know yet, silly." She chuckled, opening the case and allowing her Lucario to pick it up and cradle the egg. Ruka handed the egg back to her trainer, who knelt before the little bluenette. "Ruka trusts you, sweetie. Take care of this egg." Akemi's hands came up to her face, a look of awe and surprise coming to her eyes as she reached to accept the egg. She hugged it close and her smile grew even wider.

"I will, Mama! I'll protect this egg with my life~!" Her mother smiled and pet her daughter's head, Ruka doing the same afterword.

"Thank you, little one." The lucario said, placing her paw onto the egg. "When you are born, take care of her…" she let her voice trail off, the little girl looking up at her mother's pokemon. She caught a small, almost sad expression on her face before the lucario smiled again.

"Now, why don't we have lunch?" the woman asked, smiling cheerfully as she went to prepare lunch. "I think we'll have some grilled cheese and corn chowder~"

"Yay, grilled cheese and corn chowder~!" Akemi cheered, Keiichi going to help his mother in the kitchen as Akemi and Ruka moved the egg to be somewhere safe for the time being.

* * *

A few weeks later, Akemi was sitting infront of the house, watching the Butterfree fly by when she felt the egg shift, turning to see it start glowing. "Waaaah! M-mama! Keii! Ruka!" she exclaimed. "I-I think the egg is hatching!"

"It's hatching?" the girl's mother came to the door, Keiichi following close behind and Ruka coming over from the garden where she was replenishing her herbs. "Oh, so it is~" she smiled as the egg opened up and the little riolu that emerged opened it's eyes. The first thing it saw was Akemi and Ruka, smiling cheerfully as it hugged onto the lucario's foot, but then let go and hugged onto Akemi.

"Seems like he recognizes you." Ruka smiled. "That's good, you've done an excellent job taking care of the egg." She pet the bluenette's head and smiled more. "Now be sure to keep up that good work and keep raising him."

"Of course~" she nodded, hugging onto Ruka, surprising the Lucario a bit. "Thank you for trusting me, Ruka~" she nuzzled into the Lucario's shoulder, the Riolu copying her gesture. "I'll do my very best~!"

"… I know you will. After all." She looked up at her trainer. "You are your mother's daughter."

"Yes well~ There's more than just me in my little girl." Their mother chuckled, seeing a shape in the distant sky flying their way. "Oh, speaking of which~ Looks like my husband is home~"

"Papa's home?" Akemi exclaimed, looking at the sky while still hugging Ruka, letting go so she could wave at the incoming silhouette. "Papa~! Welcome home~!" she called, the shape soon becoming recognizable as the girl's father and his partner pokemon. They landed, the large Salamence letting his trainer down and bowing his head to the family. "Salamence~!" Akemi rushed over with her Riolu in hand and stopped before the large dragon type. "Hi there~"

"Sala." The pokemon nudged the girl's cheek with its nose before looking at the new arrival. "Sala mence?"

"Wan wan?" Riolu tilted his head, smiling. "Wan wan wan!"

"What a courageous little Riolu you have there." The man with black hair walked over, placing a hand on Akemi's head. "Is that Ruka's son?"

"Papa~!" Akemi hugged her father, the Riolu blinking before hugging the man too. "Yep yep, Ruka's second son~!" she nodded, picking up the Riolu and offering her father a look at the pokemon. "I'm gonna take super good care of him~!"

"Wan wan~!"

"Haha, that's wonderful Akemi." He smiled, tousling his daughter's hair before his wife walked over to them. "Misako~" he stood up and hugged onto his wife, the woman smiling as Keiichi walked over.

"Welcome home, Aaren~" she chuckled, moving away so Keiichi could see his father.

"And Keiichi~" he pat his son's head. "I have a present for you~"

"Huh? A present?" Keiichi asked, looking confused as his father looked to Salamence, the pokemon nodding and leaning his neck over to his trainer, the secured container attached to his collar being removed by Aaren. "I-isn't this…?" the boy's eyes were wide. "A-a Dratini egg?!"

"That's right~ You said you wanted to be a Pokemon Professor like your mother?" he smiled. "I figured since you're such a go getter, you should have a little challenge. Raising a dragon type is pretty difficult. Do you think you can do it?"

"Y-yes, father~!" Keiichi's eyes were wide and his smile was wide.

"Perfect~" Aaren smiled.

* * *

The next few months flew by, Akemi and her Riolu were becoming inseparable. They slept together, bathed together, they ate their meals together, they played together, and they trained together. And meanwhile, Keiichi was taking care of his Dratini egg. Misako and Aaren were proud to take care of their children who were both turning into such fine pokemon people. But… then tragedy struck…

By the time the tragedy had settled, Keiichi and Akemi were orphaned, their home in shambles, and their whole world had been turned upside down. Their mother's apprentice, a young lady named Willow, took them in while the town's mayor helped rebuild their home and the lab. However… neither child could be the same… Keiichi remained in the hospital for a few weeks, and his little sister refused to leave her brother's side until he was better, ending up getting bedridden with sickness for a while. Keiichi became rather panicky over his sister and it never seemed to fade away. However once she was better, Akemi began dressing in all black and she became a little bit antisocial. So to remedy his sister's behavior, Keiichi made a suggestion. "Akemi? Why don't you try going on a journey?" Keiichi smiled.

"A… journey?" Akemi asked, accepting a pamphlet from her big brother. "Kanto?"

"Yes, Kanto. Professor Oak, do you remember him?" Keiichi asked, placing his sister's lunch on the table. Riolu climbed onto Akemi's lap and sat down there, reading the pamphlet as well. "He said he would be happy to meet you at the port in Kanto so you can get a good head start."

"… But what about you?" she looked up at her brother.

"I'll be staying here and continuing my training to be a pokemon professor under Willow." Keiichi smiled, petting his sister's head gently. "I have a few friends in Kanto as well, so you can get into contact with them if need be." He added. "So, what do you say, kiddo?" he asked, smiling more.

"…" Akemi looked down at Riolu, who looked up at his trainer. "What do you think, Riolu? Want to try?"

"Wan wan~" he nodded, hugging onto his trainer's arm. Akemi smiled a little.

"Okay, Keiichi." She looked back up at her big brother. "I'll do it. I'll go on a journey to Kanto."

* * *

Name: Akemi Ryugazaki

Age: 11

Appearance: Cerulean blue hair that comes to just below her shoulders, bangs fall into her eyes a little and lays relatively flat. Her eyes are lavender and her skin is fair and she is relatively thin. Akemi's childhood dress was pale blue and had dark blue lining and ribbons. But after the tragedy, she began wearing black long sleeves and skirts to mourn her parents.

Pokemon: Riolu (Male) Quiet Nature, Ability - Inner Focus

* * *

((Ahahaha, starting a new story~ ; v ;

I've been trying to figure out a good way to start this one for a very long time... Pokemon was a good chunk of my childhood.

I hope you look forward to it~ And look forward to more detail in the later chapters, this is just to give some backstory to Akemi and her family.

-Winter Cheshire))


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One : Starting the Journey**_

* * *

Akemi woke up one morning, seeing Riolu curled up next to her. She smiled a little and pet his head, sitting up to stretch. "… Today's the day…" she mumbled as Riolu stirred from his sleep. Akemi got out of bed to brush her hair, Riolu sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The bluenette looked out the window as a Talonflame and Staravia landed on the roof outside. "Oh? Good morning you two."

"Starrrr!" Staravia was carrying a note in its mouth.

"Oh, Keiichi closed his window, huh?" she took the letter. "I'll go give this to him. Thank you for delivering it." She said as the pair flew off back towards the white building further down the hill. She put the letter down before she changed into her clothes for the day, which Keiichi had laid out for her the night before. A black pleated skirt and puffed-sleeve shirt with a grey vest and white buttons on it. She tied the little white ribbon around her neck and pinned her mother's opal brooch on it, and then pinned her hair back with two clips. Riolu got up and jumped onto the desk in front of Akemi, her smile looking a little more emotional than it had in the months before. "Ready to go~?"

"Wan wan~!" Riolu nodded, fist pumping into the air.

"Haha, alright~" she pet Riolu's head, opening the jewelry box on her desk and pulling out a little silver pendant on a cord. "This is for you…"

"Wan?" Riolu looked at the pendant and then up at his trainer. "Wan~!" he jumped into her arms and nuzzled her, causing her to smile a little more normally. "Wan wan~!" he let Akemi put the cord around his neck and looked in the mirror.

"Looks good." Akemi leaned over and picked up her pokemon. "Come on, I smell breakfast being cooked~" she added, the little Riolu nodding and perching himself on Akemi's shoulder as they headed downstairs to get their farewell meal from Keiichi. As they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, they were greeted by a Dratini, an older Riolu, a Charmeleon, and a Mareep. "Good morning Hiruko." She pet the Dratini's head and let Riolu greet the other Riolu, his older brother. "And good morning, Luce."

"Wan wan." The older Riolu bowed to Akemi before patting his brother's head. Luce pointed to the kitchen, then looked at Akemi. "Wan wan wan."

"Thanks, Luce~" she nodded. "I'll go to Keiichi now." She said, heading into the kitchen with Charmeleon and Mareep. Riolu followed his trainer a few moments later.

"Charde? Can you come here please?" Keiichi called from the stove, the Charmeleon wandering over to his trainer. The young man turned to see his Charmeleon tugging on his pant leg. "If you wouldn't mind testing this for me?" he asked, handing the fire type a piece of pokemon food. "Oh, good morning, Akemi." He said as Charde gobbled down the food. "Your breakfast is on the table~"

"Thank you, Keiichi." She said, going to sit down as Mareep went to his food bowl. "Oh, is Mabashi feeling better now?"

"Yes, he's been raring to go all morning. He wants to go out again and battle Professor Willow's Turtwig." Keiichi chuckled as his Mareep dug into the food with gusto. "Not to mention they all want to see you off this morning." Keiichi added as Charde took some more of the pokemon food from the counter. Keiichi placed a cup of juice on the counter for his sister before he hugged her. "My baby sister is growing up so fast~!" he cried, nuzzling her. "My baby~!"

"Keii…" Akemi sighed. "Come on, I'm just going to Kanto… I'll call every time I get the chance, I promise…" she mumbled, feeling like a little kid again thanks to her brother's worrying. "Plus, you gave me all those contacts… I have plenty of help…"

"I know but Akemiiiii~!" he said, tears in his eyes. "I'm going to miss you SOOOOO much~!"

"Lux raaaay!" A loud boom shook the house, Keiichi immediately detatching from his sister to see a Luxray standing outside the kitchen window. "Lux lux ray!"

"Waaah! M-maguri?!" Keiichi exclaimed. The Luxray jumped away and avoided an attack from a Grovle. "Ahh, Grovyle, stop! Quit attacking each other!" The boy ran outside and tried to stop the fighting, only to get hit with both a Discharge and a Leaf Storm at the same time.

"K-keiichi!" Akemi got up before rushing outside to her brother. Keiichi laughed, sitting up. "Keii, are you alright?"

"I'm okay~" he smiled. "I just wish Maguri and Grovyle would behave…" he sighed, seeing the two still looking like they would face off. "Sorry, could you…?"

"Sure." Akemi nodded, going over to the two just before they were going to attack again. "Stop it, you two!" She stood between the two and pouted. Maguri stared at her, then turned up his nose and walked away. Then Grovyle crossed his arms, turning up his nose at the luxray as Akemi walked over. "Hey, come on... be nice…" Akemi said, poking at Grovyle's stomach. "Mama wouldn't have wanted you two arguing… please?" The grovyle looked down at the little one before sighing, petting her head. "Thank you… so please behave while I'm gone, okay? No causing Keii trouble."

"Gro gro vyle." Grovyle nodded.

"Akemi!" a woman with light greenish-aqua hair ran over with a Turtwig and Staraptor in tow. In that moment, Grovyle took off back into the forest. "What happened, there was an explosion and-!"

"It's alright Professor." Keiichi stood up, dusting himself off. "Just Maguri and Grovyle having a scuffle." He smiled. "Akemi just broke up the fight." He added, standing next to his little sister.

"Oh, the mysterious Grovyle?" Willow asked, eyes wide in fascination. "Ahh… I guess he doesn't like me still, huh?" she smiled nervously. "I'm nowhere near as good a Professor as your mother was…" she slumped, Staraptor landing next to her and staring at Akemi. "Oh, what is it Staraptor?"

"Starrrr." The pokemon pointed its wing tip at Akemi. "Starrr starrr raptor."

"Huh?" Akemi blinked. "What is it?"

"I think… Staraptor wants to test you before you leave." Willow said, looking at her pokemon. "Is that right?"

"Starrrr!" the bird pokemon flapped its wings."Starrrr raptor!"

"Test me…? In a pokemon battle?"

"Wan wan!" Riolu ran to his trainer's side and punched the air towards the flying type. "Wan!" he jumped up onto Akemi's shoulder and stood there, staring down his opponent. But Akemi pulled him down from his perch. "Wan?" he looked quizzically up at the girl holding him.

"Hey, calm down." She smiled, nuzzling her pokemon. "Remember, Staraptor's really strong compared to us… Don't over do it." She reminded her partner, the little pokemon nodding as he was put down. "Alright. Staraptor. Professor Willow. We're ready."

"Excellent~" Willow smiled cheerfully. "Keiichi, could you referee for us?"

"Of course, Professor." Keiichi took his place standing on the side lines. "This will be a one on one battle between Akemi and Riolu, and Professor Willow and Staraptor!" he stated, both parties taking their stances before readying themselves. "And, begin!"

"You have the honors, Akemi~" Willow smiled.

"Alright." Akemi nodded. "Riolu! Quick Attack!"

"Wan!" Riolu took off at Staraptor.

"Fly up!" Willow's pokemon flew up to dodge. "Now use Whirlwind!"

"Starrrrr!" the whirlwind picked up Riolu and tossed it.

"Waaan!" Riolu fell back and slid against the ground.

"Riolu!"

"Now, Staraptor, use Wing Attack!" The attack came flying at the little pokemon. Riolu glanced over his shoulder at Akemi, nodding his head a little.

"… Alright." She nodded. "Counter!" The little Riolu managed to take the hit before he used his move to return damage to Staraptor. "Now, grab onto Staraptor!" the Riolu did as instructed, the pokemon looking shocked.

"Wow, that's impressive…" Willow smiled. "Staraptor, shake him off!" The pokemon went into a steep climb, then began spiraling.

"Riolu, hang on! Use Force Palm!"

"W-waaan!" Riolu slammed a force palm on the back of the Staraptor. It hardly phased the flying type, who soon went into a dive and spin, knocking Riolu off. "Wan wan!" Riolu managed to roll off, but was already almost out of power.

"Darn… this is getting complicated…" she mumbled. "I didn't want to have to do this, but…" Riolu made eye contact with her. "Guess if we wanna do this, we gotta use that strategy." She nodded, Riolu nodding as well. "Alright! Riolu, use Quick Attack and jump up after Staraptor!" the little blue pokemon doing just that, Staraptor looking shocked to see the little blue thing so close so fast. "Now, grab Staraptor and use Force Palm!"

"Wh-wha-?!" Willow and Staraptor were both in shock from the sudden change in style. "Wow… Akemi's style… it's so much like Aaren's…"

"Now, Riolu, use Force Palm one more time and send Staraptor flying!"

"Waaaan!" Riolu was preparing to launch Force Palm when suddenly a blue orb of energy appeared in his hand and slammed into Staraptor. The little one landed next to Staraptor as it fell to the ground. Everyone stood stunned, looking confused.

"Staraptor is unable to battle! The winner is Riolu! The match goes to Akemi!"

"What the…?" Akemi blinked.

"Wasn't that…?" Willow and Keiichi stared at the little Riolu, who ran over to Akemi and jumped into her arms. "Akemi, that was amazing! Riolu just used Aura Sphere!"

"Huh?" Akemi looked up at the professor, then down at Riolu. "You did, huh?" she smiled. "You're amazing, you know that~?" she nuzzled her pokemon, the little one grinning and hugging his trainer back. Staraptor stood up and dusted off its plumage.

"That little one is most definitely Ruka's son." Willow nodded enthusiastically. "Your mother's Lucario could use Aura Sphere as a Riolu too." She smiled. "Guess her power got passed down."

"Yes, it's amazing." Keiichi smiled. "Now, let's finish up our meal and hurry to the port. Your plane arrives at noon."

"Okay." Akemi nodded, watching the Professor head back to the lab before she headed back inside to eat. Keiichi sighed at his sister's lack of emotion, but he knew inside she was happy… it just didn't reach the surface, was all...

"Akemi?"

"Yes Keiichi?" she asked as she went back to eating.

"You know… I'm sure you and Riolu must have a very deep bond for him to have learned Aura Sphere so early… but I want to remind you to be careful, okay? That's a powerful move, for a little pokemon to use." He stated, sipping at his juice.

"… Okay." She stated, nodding her head. "… You're not going to cry again when I leave, are you?" she asked her brother, who looked up with tears brimming in his eyes again. She sighed as Keiichi grabbed onto her and nuzzled her again.

"There there, Keii." She pat her brother's head, Riolu copying the gesture. "Like I said, I'll call whenever I get the chance."

"Wan wan~" Riolu nodded in agreement, hitting his chest with his fist. "Wan wan wan!"

"I know you will take good care of her, Riolu." Keiichi nodded, tears still forming. "I'm gonna miss her though!" he clung tighter to his sister. "My baby sister's going off on her very own journey!" The next several hours were filled with this behavior, even when Willow drove Keiichi and Akemi to the port.

"Take care, okay Akemi?" Willow smiled. "Riolu, keep an eye on your trainer~" She pet his head, the Riolu nodding and hugging onto Akemi's head with a smile.

"Wan wan~" Riolu pet his trainer's head before letting her look up at the Professor and Keiichi.

"Take care of yourself, Keii." Akemi said, looking a little worried. "Don't worry about me, I'll call as soon as I get to Kanto, okay?"

"O-okay…" Keiichi nodded, trying to keep from crying. "Be safe, Akemi…" he added, hugging her tight one more time. "I'll miss you…"

"I'll miss you too, Keii." She mumbled, letting him hug her. "If you have trouble with Grovyle and Maguri, it might be better if you have Salamence step in… Or maybe Goodra." She added. "Okay? Don't get hurt."

"O-okay…" he nodded, letting go and wiping his tears. "Be safe, sis… and good luck."

"Thanks, Keii… And thanks for the ride Professor Willow." She added, turning to head into the plane. Riolu sat on her shoulder as she made it to her seat, then sitting in her lap to wait for the plane to take off. As the plane began to move, Akemi stared out the window. She was heading to Kanto… a new region… She felt anxious, but she calmed down once Riolu tugged on her sleeve, smiling up at her. "Yeah, I know… we're on our way huh?"

"Wan wan~" Riolu nodded. The plane's engine started up and Akemi clung to her Riolu.

"… No going back now…" Akemi mumbled, staring out the window.

* * *

((Here's Chapter One o v o

Just a precursor to show Akemi going to Kanto.

I think I'll pick this up once I get some OCs and figure out a little bit of plot~

Remember, only Kanto for now. We'll get into the other regions as the story goes on~ Thanks for reading, and reviews are always appreciated~

-Winter Cheshire))


	3. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two: Communication Deficit**_

* * *

Akemi stared out the window as Riolu slept in her lap, soon seeing land and waking her partner with smile. "Riolu, look. We're here." She said, the little pokemon rubbing his eyes before looking out the window, eyes going wide.

"Wan wan!"

"Yep, that's it, Riolu. Kanto…" she said as the plane began its descent. "We're really in another region, huh?" she pet Riolu's head and sighed. "First thing's first, we call Keii. Then we head over to Pallet Town and Professor Oak's lab." She stated, the Riolu nodding vigorously.

"Wan wan!" Riolu climbed onto her shoulder once they stopped at the gate, Akemi standing up with her bag and deboarding the plane. But as they walked to the airport communications booths, Akemi noticed that they were getting a lot of weird looks.

"Geez, you'd think they've never seen a kid take a plane alone before, huh?" she asked, Riolu nodding as they stopped at the booths and took an empty one. She dialed the number and waited, one click and Keiichi's screen flipped on.

"AKEMIIIIII!" Keiichi was practically plastered to the screen, wearing his thick-rim glasses and lab coat. "MY BABY SISTER MADE IT TO KANTO SAFELYYYYY!"

"Oi oi, Keii, calm down…" Akemi sighed, face red from embarrassment as the voice of her brother carried out of the booth. "Lower your voice…"

"Sorry, Akemi…" he said, removing himself from being plastered against the screen. "A-anyway, you're going to get to Professor Oak's lab today, right? I called and let him know you were coming. And I called one of my associates, she's going to come meet you-"

"Keii, I'm not a baby, I can read a map." She grumbled.

"B-but Akemi!"

"… fine… but if she treats me like a little kid I'm going to walk away." Before Keiichi could reply, Professor Willow pulled him back from the screen and looked in at the girl from the other end of the line.

"Akemi? How's Riolu? Did he take the flight well? And you too, was it alright?"

"Yes, Professor Willow. We both slept most of the way and we're both doing well." She stated, Riolu looking up at the screen from Akemi's lap. "Please keep my brother busy with work and away from the phone." She added.

"You got it kid. Professor Oak's going to want to take a look at Riolu, so you might be there for a while." Willow said. "Likely he'll let you sleep at the lab."

"Alright… thank you, Professor. Bye for now."

"Bye Akemi."

"AKEMIIII, BE SAFE! I LOVE YOU!"

"… Love you too, Keii." She mumbled, hanging up the phone. A few minutes later, Akemi and Riolu stopped at a news stand to get some lunch before heading out of the airport. But as they were leaving, someone tapped Akemi on the shoulder.

"Hey, kid. Are you by any chance Akemi Ryugazaki?" The girl was fairly lean and muscular, her brown hair tied up in a ponytail that reached her upper back. Her skin was slightly tanned, and her green eyes were set in a hard stare and she was wearing active wear. A short sleeve, v-neck light violet tee with black capri-leggings, white sneakers and a sports cap; she seemed around her mid-teens, from what Akemi could tell.

"Yes… and you are…?"

"The name's Katia Karelin. Remember it." The girl stated. "I'm one of Keiichi's friends."

"Keiichi called you for nothing, sorry. I don't need anyone's help." She stated, turning away from Katia before she walked down the road towards Professor Oak's lab. Katia followed, looking a bit miffed.

"Hoh, quite a mouth on you for being a little kid…" Katia scoffed. "But, Keiichi did say that you were rather skeptical of strangers… Guess I don't blame you." She took out her trainer card and showed it to the girl.

"I don't need to see your trainer card." Akemi added. "I looked through every contact in Keiichi's book. I just wanted to see if you were as straight forward as he said you were." She turned and began walking.

"Hey, don't walk away when someone's talking to you!" Katia said, following Akemi. "Man, you're such a pain in the-"

"If I'm a bother, then leave me alone and you don't have to deal with me." Akemi responded, Riolu still clinging to her.

"I owed Keiichi a favor, and he asked me to get you to Oak's lab safely, so that's what I'm going to do." She stated. "Quit being so high and mighty, you're just a kid-"

"I don't need your help." Akemi stated, looking up at the woman with narrowed eyes. "And I know where I'm going, I'm not so incompetent that I can't use a map." She added, walking away from the older girl. "My brother has to stop trying to do everything for me and let me do things on my own… He can't protect me forever…"

"Fine." Katia sighed. "But I can't just leave you to walk to Professor Oak's lab alone, so I'll go with you since I happen to be heading that way anyway." Katia stated, catching up easily to the 11 year old. Akemi didn't speak on the matter, Riolu petting his trainer's head as though trying to calm her down. When the pair arrived at the lab, an elderly man was rushing around, chasing a few pidgey who looked like they had stolen something from the old man. "What in the world…?"

"Come back here with that, you bothersome pidgey!"

"Riolu."

"Wan wan." Riolu nodded at his trainer's command before standing on her shoulder and jumping up to grab the pidgey, tumbling with the flying type and wrestling it for the object that it had taken. Once the little blue pokemon had the object in hand, the Pidgey took off, looking a little freaked out. "Wan wan!" Riolu jumped up onto Akemi's shoulder again.

"Good job." She pet Riolu's head as the old man walked over and Katia stared at the girl and her pokemon.

"Thank you for getting that back." The old man said, looking exhausted.

"No problem…" Akemi took the little shiny pin from her Riolu, handing it to the old man.

"Hey, Professor. Long time no see." Katia stated, waving a hand.

"Ah, Katia, good to see you again." The old man stated. He turned to Akemi and stared for a second, looking mostly at her face. "Oh? You must be Keiichi's sister. Akemi, was it?" the old man asked. "You look a lot like your mother. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Professor Oak." He offered a hand, Akemi pausing a moment before shaking his hand. "Come come, let's go back to my lab." Akemi and Katia followed the Professor back to his lab, Riolu looking around in with curiosity.

"This lab is pretty different from Professor Willow's lab, huh Riolu?" The little blue pokemon nodded, staring at everything and anything around. Akemi smiled a little at her partner pokemon's reaction to a new place. It was adorable to her, really.

"Do you ALWAYS talk to your Riolu?" Katia asked.

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" Akemi asked the girl, glaring at her.

"Now now, no need to argue." Professor Oak said. "Your family has always had a very strong connection to Riolu and Lucario, correct, Akemi?"

"Yes sir." She replied simply.

"Your mother once told me that your family on her side grew up near Almia Castle." Professor Oak stated. "Perhaps that is a part of your deep rooted connection to your partner pokemon." Katia quirked an eyebrow but didn't say anything, Akemi not responding either as she continued to walk. "Well, here we go. You two can take a seat anywhere you like~" he said. "I'll get some snacks for you."

"Thanks, Professor." Katia stated, sitting down on the couch, Akemi taking a seat in a single-seater with Riolu sliding down to sit on her lap. Akemi was petting Riolu's head as she stared down at the floor, her pokemon not moving from his spot. Professor Oak came back with some tea and cookies, Katia taking some immediately but Akemi not moving. Riolu looked up at his trainer, then at the cookies. As though on some cue, Akemi sat up and leaned forward, taking a small plate of cookies and giving them to her Riolu, the little one smiling and nuzzling against her hand before beginning to eat.

"Wan wan?" Riolu offered Akemi a cookie.

"No, I'm alright." She said, going back to petting his head. "You eat up. We're going to train afterwords so you can work off those sweets." She added, the Riolu nodding and leaning back against her as he ate. Professor Oak smiled at their interaction.

"Tell me, Akemi, are you able to understand your Riolu?"

"Hm?" she looked up. "Understand…? More or less." She stated. "It's not exactly human speech, but his emotions are understandable…"

"Amazing~ You and your mother both said the same thing~" he nodded. Katia rolled her eyes a little, biting into another cookie. "Now, Keiichi and Professor Willow both told me that you don't like to stay in one place for too long, so I'll get right to it." He said, handing Akemi a small bag. "Here are some pokeballs and a pokedex."

"…?" Akemi looked up at the professor. "But, sir, why-?"

"Your brother and Professor Willow both agreed on one thing, and that was that you have an uncanny ability to communicate with pokemon. I feel as though you would be a good person to ask to collect some data on pokemon in the region."

"…?" Akemi looked at the pokedex, then at Riolu. "What do you think?"

"Wan wan!" Riolu nodded, smiling at his trainer.

"Alright." She nodded, looking back up at the professor. "I'll do my best, sir."

"Excellent. I'll set up a transfer port so you can send any pokemon you might catch back to your brother at the Almia lab, then." He smiled. "Please feel free to spend the night, as it's getting dark out." He added, getting up to go and set up the transfer port in accordance to Akemi's number. Katia stood up to walk away when Akemi spoke again.

"… thanks for bringing me here…"

"Yeah, no problem." Katia said, walking off to the guest room, leaving Akemi sitting with Riolu in the main room, the pokemon looking up at Akemi.

"Wan?"

"No… I'm alright." She picked him up and hugged her little pokemon close. "… I miss Keii."

"Wan wan." Riolu pet his trainer's head, nuzzling against her. "Wan wan~" Riolu smiled more, hugging onto Akemi. The girl paused, then smiled and chuckled a little.

"Yeah… you're right about that…" she sighed. "… thanks, Riolu…"

"Wan wan~" the little blue fighting type sprung up and pulled his trainer's hand before perching on her shoulder and directing her to the guest rooms so they could both sleep. It wasn't very late, but Riolu seemed to know that Akemi needed to rest. The pair curled up under the covers and dosed off almost immediately after the lights were out.

* * *

((Here's Chapter Two~

Thank you to Katia's creator, FinalPower, for putting her forward for use in my story~

I hope I wrote her the way she might actually behave... ; v ;''' I'm sorry if not

Look forward to the next chapter~ And I'm still looking for OCs to join up so please feel free to message me~

-Winter Cheshire))


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three: Silence versus Volume**_

* * *

Akemi awoke as the sun came up, Riolu feeling her move and sitting up with her. "Wan wan?" he asked sleepishly, tugging on Akemi's sleeve. The girl turned to her pokemon and pet his head, smiling a little. "Wan?"

"No no, I'm okay… I just need to wake up… we're gonna head out once we do our morning exercise." She stated, the pokemon nodding before he stretched. Akemi got up and grabbed her clothes, changing quickly before she walked with her Riolu outside. They started doing stretches before Riolu and Akemi began to spar. Riolu jumped and punched, Akemi blocking and then returning a blow or two, Riolu blocking or dodging out of the way. They continued this for a while until they heard someone step outside. Akemi turned to see Katia, staring a moment before she bowed her head to the girl a little, Riolu turning away to shadow box while his trainer took a break. "Good morning, Katia…"

"Morning." The girl said, seeing how serious Riolu seemed about training. "Were you just sparring… with your Riolu?"

"Of course… Riolu needs to learn to fight against bigger opponents… and I need to get stronger…" she added. "We've had this routine for… a long time." She stated before she turned to Riolu. "Hey, come on. Let's go get breakfast." Riolu turned to Akemi and nodded, jumping up to her arms and climbing onto her shoulder. She went to grab her bag from her room before she thanked the Professor and headed out. Katia walked with her, and began asking her questions.

"So you and Keii both have Riolu, right?"

"Yes, we do."

"Do you both train with them the way you were just now?"

"Sometimes… Keii isn't much one for fighting, so he normally just helps Luce warm up." Akemi said as she stopped at a small restaurant and walked inside.

"Luce… That's his Riolu's name?"

"That's right." Akemi got them a table and they both sat down, Riolu moving to sit next to his trainer. All the patrons seemed to turn and look at the little blue pokemon.

"Why didn't you name your Riolu?"

"I didn't think I had to." She stated, picking up a menu. "I would have liked to give him a name… but in the end, I didn't think he really needed one… Riolu is Riolu… that's that." She said, her partner nodding and looking at the menu with his trainer. "Do you want to try the breakfast hash, Riolu?"

"Wan wan!" Riolu nodded and pointed out some other things too.

"Alright alright." She said, petting her pokemon's head. "Silly boy…" she put the menu down and looked at Katia, who seemed a bit… concerned. "What is it?"

"You feed your Riolu human food?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Don't you know that pokemon need specific nutrition?" the older girl asked, staring at the 11 year old. "Feeding them human food isn't good-"

"That's not true…" the pair turned to see a young woman sitting at the table across from them, her long black hair pulled back with a ribbon and her large purple eyes focused on her menu. Her copper brown skin and long eyelashes made her look very pretty, and her dark clothes gave her a rather casual appearance. "Most people just don't recommend it because they go overboard and feed their pokemon an unbalanced diet."

"Wasn't talking to you." Katia stated, the girl across the way not responding. Akemi didn't say anything, but pulled Riolu into her lap, as though to move him away from the newcomer.

"Your Riolu is very well trained…" the black-haired girl turned to look at Akemi, smiling a little. She had dimples, and seemed sincere in her words. "You must take excellent care of him. His coat is very shiny." Akemi just stared and nodded. "You're Keiichi's little sister, right?"

"Why is it that everyone in this town knows my brother?" Akemi asked, turning back to stare at the table.

"Well he was very concerned." The blackette stated. "I believe he said he put in quite a few calls to people. I'm Miyako, by the way. Miyako Amari." She stated, standing to offer her hand to the girl. Akemi stared at the hand extended to her before shaking it cautiously. "You're pretty shy too… Keiichi was pretty accurate in his description of you."

"Yes well…" Akemi mumbled, retreating from the conversation by shoving herself into the corner of the booth.

"Hey, quit scaring her!" Katia stated. "Man, why is Keii calling more people? I know how to help out kids!" she grumbled, Miyako turning to look at the brunette but not speaking. "Come on, say something!"

"I don't think I'm scaring her."

"You're obviously making her uncomfortable!"

"And your yelling isn't helping."

"I'm only yelling because-!"

"WAN WAN!" Riolu slammed his little fist on the table, causing the older girls to stop arguing before he turned to his trainer and hugged onto her, nuzzling against her to calm her down. "Wan wan… wan wan?" he waved a paw infront of her face to see if she was paying attention.

"I'm okay…" she mumbled, hugging onto Riolu. The waitress came over and checked on them, asking the older girls to quiet down before taking their orders. They were now sitting at one table, Miyako next to Akemi but being glared at a little by Riolu whenever she looked at the bluenette. Katia just crossed her arms and stared at the woman across the table.

"Sorry about that…" Miyako said, sighing a little. "I guess I went a little overboard… Did I scare you?"

"… No… you're just weird… Keii has too many weird friends." Akemi mumbled before she began petting Riolu's head, the little one enjoying the attention. "And I don't like being the center of attention…"

"Oh, alright…" Miyako nodded, seeing Katia looking a little triumphant. "You know, that means she called you weird too…"

"So?" Katia asked, going back to glaring again.

"Stop it." Akemi stated. "You're both supposed to be mature, stop acting like kids fighting over a toy." She mumbled. "And you're upsetting Riolu… so knock it off." She added, petting Riolu's ear. The little blue pokemon sensed his trainer's discomfort, leaning his head back against her and looking up at her. After that, neither one spoke until after breakfast, Akemi holding short conversations with her Riolu as they ate their meals.

* * *

After breakfast, the two older girls were still following Akemi around. "Stop following me."

"I'm not." Both Katia and Miyako stated at the same time.

"You are, but I can take care of myself just fine. So leave me alone." Akemi turned to them, eyes half narrowed in a glare. "I'm not going to deal with you two pretending like you care, so back off!" she stated, running off and heading onto the route out of town before either of the older girls could really react. Katia grumbled to herself before going to run after the bluenette, only to end up getting stopped by Miyako.

"What are you doing?!"

"I should be asking you that."

"I'm going to give that brat a piece of my mind, that's what!"

"And what will that get you?" Miyako asked. "If you LISTENED when Keiichi asked you to take care of her, I'm sure you'd have heard that when she gets upset, the best remedy is to let her be with her pokemon, away from people."

"I DID listen!" Katia retorted. "But she just insulted me, I'm not going to let her get away with that! She can't just run away from all her problems!"

"She's not running from her problems." A young man stated from behind the pair. They turned to see a boy with dark red hair and chocolate brown eyes. "She ran because she hates being around conflict. It upsets her partner and thus it upsets her."

"Jasper?" Miyako asked, staring at the boy. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you were in Hoenn!" Katia exclaimed. Miyako and Katia turned to one another.

"You know Jasper?"

"Only through Keiichi."

"Yes yes, ladies." Jasper smiled. "I was Keiichi's best friend, remember? Of course you would both know me if you knew Keiichi." He smiled. "Now, about why Akemi ran off."

"What's there to get, she's just a little kid and thinks running will solve things!" Katia exclaimed.

"No, you're wrong!" Miyako stated.

"Ladies, please." Jasper stepped between the two. "Don't argue." He looked at them both. "Let me explain while we go looking for her, okay?" The pair agreed fairly easily despite their earlier argument. "Akemi is quite a volatile little girl. When I met her for the first time, it was at Keiichi's parents funeral. Keii told me she used to be really cheerful and outgoing…" he began, walking between the two girls to keep them from arguing. "But apparently when their parents passed away, Akemi retreated into a shell of sorts… she became even closer to her partner, her Riolu." He added as they made it to the end of the path. "Keiichi said that she began behaving in sync with her pokemon's emotions. When Riolu was willing to get up and go, to try and get over the loss, she began to follow, even just a little. Her Riolu is so close to her that apparently they can understand each other pretty perfectly."

"She was talking to her Riolu at the lab." Katia interjected. "So what, you're telling me they have some sort of unbreakable bond or whatever?"

"No, not quite." Jasper shook his head. "But… Akemi and Riolu definitely are closer than Keiichi is to his Riolu." He looked up at the trees, seeing some pidgey staring at them. "He called yesterday, worried that a certain brunette and blackette would end up clashing and scaring his baby sister away." He grinned, both girls looking almost appalled at the statement. "You upset one, you upset them both… they're in sync to their cores." He said as he kept walking. "And though you're right about her running away not being the best way to deal with things." He turned to look at Katia. "She's only 11. She's a kid, no matter how mature she might try to be." He stated. "Akemi's just a little girl… she grew up sheltered before her parents died… no one really got to teach her how to be sociable… and Keiichi's a natural people magnet, and his sister is not. Honestly, I think she's scared to be around people because she doesn't want to lose anybody again…"

"… So… she's not being shy… she's trying to keep her distance emotionally?" Miyako questioned. "But… why? Surely Keiichi told her to try and make friends…"

"Keii isn't exactly the most convincing of people." Jasper reminded the girl. "And what's more, Akemi really hates being told what to do…" he chuckled. "I remember that she almost kicked me in the knee when I tried to tell her to eat something. Keii freaked out pretty bad, and Akemi ran off into the forest behind her house." He grinned. "It was snowing pretty heavily too."

"She ran out in the snow?! How stupid!"

"That is fairly irrational…"

"Yep. Keiichi tried to go out after her, but their mother's Ninetales stopped him. Less than half an hour later, Akemi was back, being escorted by their mother's Absol."

"An Absol?"

"So what's the point?!" Katia asked, annoyed with not knowing the point of this story.

"The point is that Akemi will come back… just give her time. She listens to pokemon a lot more than she listens to humans." Jasper stated, standing at the entrance to the route out of town. "And once she calms down, she'll come back."

"So… what are we doing here?"

"Waiting."

"Waiting…?"

"Are you telling me we're just waiting for her to come back?!"

"Of course." Jasper said. "I don't want her to kick me in the knee or shin. She spars with her pokemon now so she's pretty strong."

* * *

Akemi sneezed, Riolu looking up at his trainer in concern. "Geez…" she mumbled. "I wonder who's talking about me…"

"Wan wan wan." Riolu pet his trainer's head, smiling at her.

"Yeah… I just need to take a little time, is all." She said, staring at her partner. "It sucks… everyone is still treating me like I can't take care of myself. I feel like I'm back at my parents funeral, Riolu… I hate it… I want it to stop… all this concern, all this pity…"

"Wan wan…" Riolu sat and nodded at his trainer.

"… Sorry." She pet her Riolu's head, the pokemon leaning into her hand.

"Wan wan." He shook his head, smiling. "Wan wan, wan wan wan~"

"… yeah." She chuckled. "I bet your mother wouldn't be too happy with me sulking like this, huh?" she stood back up, dusting off her skirt. She looked up and saw some pidgey sitting on a branch of a tree, one larger than the rest. "… guess we should head back… we're probably bothering these roosting pidgey." She offered her arm to pick up her pokemon partner, the little blue fighting type jumping into her arms before they turned to head out of the forest.

"There she is~" Jasper smiled, waving at the girl as she came into view. Akemi paused, staring for a minute. "Akemi~"

"What the…? What are YOU doing here?" she asked. "Keii didn't call you from Hoenn, did he?"

"No no, silly Akemi." Jasper chuckled. "Keii was just panicking, and since I was in Cerulean City visiting an old friend of mine, I figured I'd come and see you." He stated. "Making sure you aren't being all depressing again."

"Depressing?" she stared at him. "What are you talking about?" she turned to Riolu, who looked a little confused. "Do you get what he's saying?"

"Wan." Riolu shook his head.

"Come on, don't be like that kiddo." Jasper put his arm around the girl's shoulder. "That's no way to speak to your new travelling companion!"

"… my what?"

"Hey, wait I was here first!" Katia stated, Miyako sighing at the group.

"I was here before you, Jasper…"

"It's not first come first serve~"

"What in the world are you all talking about?" Akemi asked, looking bothered, but somehow calm compared to before. "Why are you all trying to travel with me?"

"Because. You won't be taken seriously." Jasper stated bluntly, Miyako and Katia both looking a little shocked. The red head was so blunt about his statements, it was almost like he didn't care what anyone thought of him. But instead of getting upset like they expected, Akemi sighed and muttered an agreement. "Wonderful~ We'll get going as soon as we have some lunch~"

"We just ate breakfast!" Katia exclaimed.

"That's fine, so long as you're buying." Akemi stated, Jasper chuckling.

"Only for you, kiddo."

"Fine. Don't pay for those two…"

"Hey, what kind of a decision is that?!" Katia exclaimed as Miyako followed them, Jasper telling Akemi all about the Kanto region and stuff as they headed back into town to get some lunch. But, the tension seemed to have faded, with someone Akemi knew around the girl was much calmer. And so their group had been formed. Soon, they would make their way out into the Kanto Region.

* * *

((Next chapter, up~

I hope I did the new character justice... Thank you XxLoveMakesTheWorldGoRoundxX for submitting Miyako for use in my story. I hope I wrote her accurately ; v ;

Jasper is my OC, and Keiichi's best friend from thier childhood. He's blunt, doesn't like older girls (he's 15, Keiichi's age), and he only treats Akemi nicely because of Keiichi. He normally insults younger girls.

Anyway, look forward to this group of mismatched personalities making their way out into Kanto~

-Winter Cheshire))


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four: Forging Forest Friendship**_

* * *

The day after Akemi had agreed to journey with Katia, Miyako, and Jasper, they were walking along the path towards Viridian City. "So this is Route 1…" Akemi mumbled as they walked, Riolu on her shoulder. "It's nice and calm…"

"Isn't it nice?" Jasper smiled. "I bet you and Keii would have a field day with all the pokemon in this forest." He stated, walking with the bluenette and watching as she glanced all around the forest, from the canopy to the ground beneath the bushes.

"Really…?" she asked, tilting her head sideways as they kept walking.

"This place is full of nothing but pidgey and rattata." Katia stated, her arms crossed in front of her. "There's nothing worth-while around here; even for a newbie like you."

"That's rude." Miyako murmured. The two were getting into their argument when suddenly they were knocked to the ground by a pair of pidgey flying by with what looked like someone's food.

"COME BACK HERE YOU NO GOOD THIEVES!" A boy with blue hair and a blue and red ensemble came rushing past the group, almost stepping on Katia and ending up tripping on a rock and falling flat on his face as the pidgey vanished into the trees with the boy's meal. A turtwig was right behind him, stopping next to his trainer when he fell. "Darn it…" the boy sat up. "Sorry Turtwig… guess we lost them…"

"HEY YOU IDIOT, YOU ALMOST STEPPED ON ME!" Katia growled, her attention averted from her argument with Miyako and anger focused on this newcomer.

"Huh?" the boy turned and stared. "Um… Sorry…?"

"LIKE THAT CUTS IT!" Katia stood up, pointing at the boy. "YOU JERK!" The boy looked to his turtwig and both seemed not to really understand what was happening. Katia was very upset, and looked as though she might be holding herself back just barely from trying to beat this kid senseless.

"Katia, calm down." Akemi mumbled, looking bothered by the girl's outrage. "Besides, shouldn't you be mad at the pidgey for knocking you over?"

"I AM MAD AT THEM, DARN IT!"

"Goodness you're so ill tempered." Jasper chuckled. "Not lady like at all, Katia~"

"SHUT YOUR FACE, PRETTY BOY!"

"Ahaha, that nickname again? Do you have a crush on me~?"

"AUGH, SHUT UP I SAID!" Katia threw a pokeball out, a venonat jumping out. "Let's teach them all a lesson, Venonat!"

"Veno veno nat!" the pokemon nodded with it's trainer, preparing to attack.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Akemi stated, standing in front of Jasper, causing Katia to stop. "If you're going to argue like this, take it AWAY from me." She glared harshly at the older girl, then turned to where the pidgey had flown off, seeing that same oversized pidgey from when she ran off into the forest the day before. She turned to look at the boy who was sitting on the ground and the turtwig.

"Um…?" he quirked an eyebrow. "Why is she staring?" he looked to Jasper for an answer.

"She's observing your behavior, and her Riolu is observing your aura." Jasper smiled. "That's how they are. Don't pay it any mind."

"Okay…?" the boy stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm Ace Fudo, nice ta meetcha'." He offered a hand to Akemi to shake, which the girl stared at for a minute before accepting.

"Akemi Ryugazaki… nice to meet you." She mumbled, Riolu still staring at the boy. "This is Riolu."

"Wan." The little blue pokemon bowed his head the slightest bit before looking at the turtwig. "Wan wan wan?" Riolu looked at Akemi, then back at the pokemon.

"That so?" she asked, petting her Riolu's head. "That's good…" she nodded before turning to Jasper, who walked up next to her. "Riolu said he seems like a good enough person…"

"Haha, well that's good~" Jasper said, tousling Akemi's hair, then turning to Ace. "I'm Jasper. Jasper Cobalt." He stated, shaking hands with Ace. "The loudmouth over there is Katia Karelin, and the silent one is Miyako Amari."

"DON'T INTRODUCE ME, PRETTY BOY!"

"Now now." Jasper chuckled. "Don't get all worked up~ It's very ugly for girls to get like that~"

"Jasper, don't push your luck." Akemi stated, Riolu turning to glare at Jasper a little. "Katia, calm down… before you have an aneurism or something." she grumbled as she turned back to Ace. "Are you going to chase those pidgey? Cause I wouldn't recommend it with a grass type…"

"Huh?" Ace looked confused

"Are you going to go after them?"

"Um… no, I won't…"

"Hm… why not?"

"Well, it's just food, I can make more…" he grinned. "Why?"

"… you make such a fuss, knock my companion over to chase the pidgey down, and then you end up acting as though you don't care…" she stated. "It's strange."

"You're strange too, brat." Katia grumbled. "Come on, leave this weirdo… I'm getting hungry."

"It is getting close to dinner time… we haven't eaten in a few hours…" Miyako agreed. Akemi turned to them and nodded slowly. "We should hurry if we don't want to get stuck out here." The three older ones headed off, Akemi turning to bow to Ace before she turned around and they headed towards Viridian City.

"H-hey wait!" Ace ran to catch up to them. "If you're going back to Viridian City, I'll walk with you guys! I'm heading back that way anyway."

"Oh, JOY." Katia stated, sarcasm dripping from her words.

"Katia." Akemi turned to the girl. "Relax…"

"Yeah yeah." She grumbled. The group walked in silence, Ace attempting to start conversations, Jasper seeming to be the only one willing to answer and hold the conversation with the boy. But as they continued, Akemi was having trouble keeping up. "Hey, keep up brat."

"Don't tell me to keep up, I don't have a long stride like the rest of you-" she turned away, but felt the ground give way under her and she slid, tumbling down a steep hill.

"A-akemi?!" Miyako exclaimed, seeing the ground give way in front of her when she stepped close.

"Akemi!" Jasper was barely held back by Ace and Katia when he was about to go down after her. "Akemi!?" No answer. "Shit, we gotta go find her!"

"Come on, there should be a way down there this way." Ace said. "I know this forest pretty well, I grew up here." He headed down a path, the others following.

* * *

"Owww…" Akemi grumbled, sitting up as Riolu checked her over for injuries. "I'm fine, Riolu." She mumbled, attempting to sit up when she realized she'd hurt her knee. "Nnn… damnit." She muttered, unable to put any pressure on the injury. "This is bad… I can't move…" she dragged herself over to a tree trunk and leaned against it, Riolu looking worried for her. "I think we should be fine sleeping here, but…" she looked around and sighed. "I'm gonna have to ask you to help me out, okay Riolu?" she pet his head gently, the little one nodding.

"Wan wan!" he hit his chest with his fist, nodding enthusiastically. "Wan wan wan!" he ran off in search of something, Akemi smiling as he rushed away, noticing that there were some sticks nearby to her. She took her bag off her back and pulled out some medical tape, laying on her side to grab the sticks before sitting back up.

"Now how did this go…?" she pondered, trying to remember when Keiichi had splinted his own knee before. She sighed, knowing it would probably hurt. She adjusted her leg, flinching as she lined it up properly. "Ahh, this hurts…" she grumbled, face pale. Once she lined up the sticks, she wrapped the tape around her leg. She heard a crash, looking up as she finished tying the knot. "… Riolu?"

"Wan wan~!" Riolu came back a little while later, dragging a big branch. "Wan wan!" he dropped it next to her and smiled.

"Oh… a walking stick?" she asked, smiling at her partner and hugging him. "Thank you…" she managed to get herself up, using the branch as support. "Let's go find some water or berries, okay?"

"Wan wan~" Riolu walked alongside his trainer, looking around for any signs of food or water.

* * *

Jasper and the others were calling for Akemi as they walked, the sun having almost entirely set by this time. "Damn it, where did she go?" Jasper asked, looking almost worried.

"The hill where she fell should be just ahead, let's keep moving." Ace said, turning to the others. "Don't worry, this forest is pretty safe, so she won't be attacked by pokemon unless she provokes them."

"Right." Miyako nodded as they continued to follow their new acquaintance.

* * *

Akemi and Riolu had found a clearing to rest in, Akemi exhausted from her injury. "Sorry, Riolu… I'm of no use like this…" she mumbled, leaning back against a tree. Riolu curled up in her lap and nuzzled against her.

"Wan wan." He mumbled, looking tired. "Wan wan…"

"Ehe." She smiled, hearing wings flapping, Riolu sitting up and glaring out into the darkness. The oversized pidgey from earlier landed on a nearby branch, along with a couple of other, smaller pidgey. "Oh… you're… the one from yesterday…" The pidgey cooed and flew to land in front of Akemi, tilting its head at her. "Curious, aren't you?" she asked, picking up a berry Riolu had collected and breaking it in quarters, offering a piece to the bird pokemon. But it didn't move. "Hm… curious but cautious…? How unusual…"

"Wan wan?" Riolu asked, looking at her as the smaller pidgey flew over and sat nearby, staring at the berry.

"It's okay, Riolu." Akemi stated. "Just relax." She said, her partner seeming apprehensive. She tossed the berry pieces to the pidgey, and they began to peck at them, the big pidgey still staring at her. "Though it's pretty unusual for pidgey to be awake at night… It's almost time for Hoothoot to wake up… so what are you little ones doing out here?" she questioned. The pidgey all looked at one another before looking to the large one. It cooed and flapped its wings, pointing towards a point deeper in the forest."

"Wan wan… wan wan wan." Riolu looked up to Akemi. "Wan wan?"

"Ahh, alright." Akemi managed to stand up, feeling her leg throb for a second. "Let's go see what's up." She looked to the large pidgey. "Lead the way."

After a short walk, Akemi found herself in what was essentially a cave created by low-laying trees and thick thorny branches. In the center of the cave laid a large Pidgeot, surrounded protectively by Pidgeotto and Pidgey. The Pidgeot was injured all over, looking like it had endured some burns and very powerful attacks. "… This poor thing…" Akemi said, looking shocked. "Who would do this to a pokemon?!"

"Wan wan!" Riolu looked upset as well, gripping his hands into fists. The bluenette sat down, feeling her injury sting a little.

"Riolu, I need you to ask these Pidgey to go find me Lum Berries, and either Sitrus or Oran berries, okay?" she looked to her partner. "I have a few but I don't think it'll be enough for this Pidgeot to heal completely." Her partner nodded, going to the pidgey and pidgeotto, asking them about what his trainer needed. The Pidgeot opened one eye and saw the little one and his trainer, exhaling before closing his eye again.

* * *

"Shit, where is she?!" Katia exclaimed, looking around. She saw no sign of the girl, and the group's anxiety was rising. "You said the place she fell must've been around here!"

"She could have gotten up and gone looking for a place to spend the night!" Ace retorted, Miyako looking around for the girl. "And stop yelling, she couldn't have gone far!"

"Oi, quit arguing and c'mere a second." Jasper stated, standing a few yards away. He pointed up to a tree a branch broken off. "See that?" he asked. "I think Riolu broke that branch off… Akemi might be injured…"

"Huh?! I-injured?!" Miyako exclaimed. "We have to find her, then!"

"Calm down." Jasper sighed. "Akemi got up, so we know she's okay now…" he looked relieved. "Keiichi taught her how to take care of herself, and she's pretty resourceful for a kid… Since there isn't any intimate danger in the forest, we should make camp and wait till morning. No point running around in the dark looking for her."

"HUH?! ARE YOU STUPID?!" Katia exclaimed.

"No, I just happen to trust in Akemi's judgement." He turned to the girl. "So quit griping. If you wanna go aimlessly wandering around in the dark, fine. But Akemi probably found some shelter and bunkered down for the night. We'll find her in the morning." He repeated.

* * *

Akemi mixed the Oran Berry and a couple of Sirtus berries the pidgey brought her with some water, hoping she was doing this right. "Alright, we just need to feed this to Pidgeot." She said, dragging herself over to the fully evolved bird pokemon. "Hello there." She pet his head, the pokemon opening an eye to look at her. "Do you think you can drink this? It will help."

"Pidgeooo…" the pokemon lifted his head and stared at the girl. Only then did Akemi realize it was blind in its other eye. "Pidgeooooo." It nudged her hand with its beak.

"… You… were attacked by a poacher, I take it…?" she asked, putting the bowl down and petting the pokemon's head gently. "… humans can turn into such cruel things…" she leaned her forehead against the bird, her bangs falling in her face.

"Pidgeooo." The pokemon let her pull away before leaning down to drink the mixture, then laid back down to rest.

"… rest well." She whispered, Riolu walking over and sitting next to her, curling up and laying his head in her lap before they all dozed off for the night. Pidgeot opened his eye again and stared at the girl, thinking for a few moments before closing his eye again.

* * *

First thing the next morning, Akemi awoke to see the Pidgeot staring at her. "Are you feeling better?" she asked, Riolu sitting up and looking over at the large flying type. He nodded, expanding his wing and patting Akemi's head.

"Pidgeooo?"

"Hmm?" she tilted her head. "Oh, that's right…" she mumbled. "I gotta go find the others…" she looked at her leg, sighing. "This isn't going to be fun…"

"Pid pid!" The large pidgey flew over to the pair, flapping his wings. "Pid pid!"

"Pidgeooo?"

"Pid pid pid!"

"Wan wan?" Riolu looked up at Akemi. "Wan wan! Wan!"

"Huh? They're out looking for me?" The girl managed to get up and head out into the clearing, hearing someone calling her name in the distance. "Oh…" she smiled a little. "Better move along so they don't come here, huh?" she stated, Riolu nodding his head. "Thank you for your hospitality…" she turned to Pidgeot, who had followed her to the entrance of the enclosed area. "Be safe." She added before heading back towards the voices.

"Wan wan?" Riolu tilted his head.

"No… I just don't want them to be disturbed." She replied softly as they arrived back on the path, seeing Jasper and the others.

"Akemi!" Miyako ran over first, Katia and the boys following.

"Y-you're injured!" Ace exclaimed.

"C'mon." Jasper took his bag off his shoulder and picked the girl up on his back. "Let's get you to a doctor."

"… Sorry for the trouble." She mumbled, Riolu walking alongside the group. Once in the city, they found a clinic and Akemi was treated for her injury. As they went, a certain pidgey flew behind them, following the group into Viridian City, landing outside the window to the clinic and staring inside, seeing Akemi and Riolu sitting on the bed, the girl laying against the headboard to rest and Riolu watching the window. The pokemon made eye contact, but neither one made a sound, Riolu merely nodding his head. The others were out getting lunch, and Riolu was keeping watch over Akemi, wondering why the bird pokemon followed them. Pidgey stayed for a while, and once the sun began to set he flew away, back to where the Pidgeot and his friends were.

* * *

((Ahaha, chapter's up~ ; v ;  
Thank you Blue Phoneix 20th for putting Ace forward to use in my story~ I hope I wrote him properly...

Anyway, I'm gonna load another chapter or two today, so look forward to it~

-Winter Cheshire))


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: Poachers, beware!**_

* * *

After a few days, Akemi was better and fully healed, and the group had gotten to know one another a little bit better. Starting with Katia, the girl was originally from the Sevii Islands. Miyako was from the Sinnoh Region, Celestic Town. Ace was born in Pallet Town, but began his journey in the Sinnoh Region in Twinleaf Town. Jasper was originally from the same place as Keiichi and Akemi, but he had been visiting a friend in Kanto's Cerulean City a few days before Akemi arrived in the region. "So, Akemi." Ace turned to the girl. "Where do you come from?"

"… I come from Linnese."

"Where?"

"It's a little town up in Almia, an island just off the coast of the main continent." Jasper stated. "Most people have never heard about it since the only thing really there aside from the town and the preserve is a small lab." Jasper stated. "It's pretty much like a closed community. The only thing that goes on up there are a bunch of small festivals, and occasionally a radio show or two… it's pretty rural."

"Oh, that's nice sometimes though." Miyako piped up, Katia nodding in agreement. Ace was about to speak to Akemi again when Katia kicked him under the table.

"OW! Hey what was that for-!?" he paused when Katia looked at Akemi, the boy turning to see Akemi gripping her wrist and almost trembling. "O-oh, sorry…" he mumbled. He'd heard from Jasper and the others the night before about home being a very touchy subject for Akemi, so he wasn't supposed to push on the subject matter. "A-anyway, where are you guys headed next?" he asked, grinning.

"No business of yours." Katia stated as she and Ace got into a bit of a tiff, Miyako looking relieved that she was no longer the one arguing with Katia. But… the blackette looked to Akemi, seeing the girl staring out the window, eye wide.

"Akemi?" the girl stood up and ran outside. "A-akemi?!"

"Where is she going?" Jasper asked, sighing. He stood up as well. "I'll go get her, catch up once you're done." He said, leaving money for his and Akemi's food before rushing off.

"H-hey wait for us!"

"Jasper, don't run off!"

"COME BACK HERE PRETTY BOY! DON'T RUN AWAY FROM US!"

"Please stay back!" the group noticed Officer Jenny standing at the entrance to the town, blocking people from leaving. "Please, everyone step back!"

"Officer Jenny!" Jasper ran over, having lost sight of Akemi. "What's going on?"

"There's a fire along Route One, we're not allowing people through until we have the fire under control." The officer stated. "It's dangerous, since there have also been poachers in this area recently, but we have been unable to capture them."

"A fire?" Everyone looked over at the forest to see smoke and cinders rising from the canopy.

* * *

"HEY, COME BACK HERE!"

"WAIT, KID, DON'T GO THAT WAY!" two fire fighters saw a head of blue hair run past, and a little blue pokemon following close behind her. They immediately called it in, having lost sight of the girl in the trees. "Jenny, we have a problem!"

* * *

"WHAT!? Someone ran into the forest?!"

"Yeah, a blue haired kid and a blue pokemon." The man over the radio stated.

"That sounds like Akemi!" Miyako panicked a little, Katia looking pissed.

"What is she thinking?!"

"Why would she go into the forest?" Ace asked.

"… that Pidgey."

"What?"

"There was a pidgey outside the window… it was covered in soot…" Jasper mumbled. "It might have been asking for her help or something."

"What do you mean?" Katia asked. "The kid can talk to all pokemon now?"

"No, of course not." Jasper turned to Katia. "But she's got this thing for connecting to pokemon… its kind of like… I guess, a natural thing for her… Keiichi has it too. They can sense emotions from pokemon really easily… and they're quick to run into danger to help… they tend to forget about their own well being and put the pokemon in need before almost everything else." He added.

"You know the person who ran into the forest?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, she's the little sister of my friend." Jasper stated. "… I'd like to ask to go get her, but I know you wouldn't allow that… so please go get her back safely." Jasper stated.

"Right…"

"We aren't going after her?!"

"No… she'd have said something if she wanted help or needed us to get involved…" Jasper turned to Katia. "… Trust her, Katia… it's all we can do."

"It is NOT all we can do! We can go after her and bring her back!"

"… I hate to admit it Jasper, but I agree with Katia." Miyako stated. "Akemi's putting herself in a very dangerous situation, we can't allow for her to just go in alone."

"But what can we do?" Ace asked. "If we run in after her, we have no idea where she went."

"Jasper?" the red head turned to see a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Braxton!"

"Huh? Who?"

"Jasper, what's going on?" Braxton asked.

"Keii's kid sister ran off into the forest for god knows what reason." Jasper stated. "But going after her would put people in danger, as much as I want to go after her…"

"Do you want me to go find her?"

"If you could."

"Wait, I can't simply just allow you to-"

"Officer Jenny, don't worry." The newcomer stated. "Charizard!" he let the pokemon out, its large form causing a stir in the surrounding people. "I'll bring her back in no time."

"Oi, hang on, who are you?!" Katia exclaimed.

"Sorry, introductions will have to wait. Can't leave a kid in a forest fire alone." He said. "Let's go." He got on Charizard's back and they took off over the forest.

"What the heck?!" Katia exclaimed. "Who the hell was that?!"

"That, Katia, is the guy who saved my ass when Keiichi and I got beaten up by a poacher." Jasper stated, sighing a little. "Braxton Rivers."

"Huh? He saved you and Keiichi?" Miyako asked.

"Yeah… we were getting our heads handed to us… Keiichi was no good at battling, and his Charmander was already in bad shape from getting caught in the rain. My Snivy was no match against a Talonflame, and we were getting beat really bad… Braxton came along right when I was gonna get hit by a Steel Wing and saved us both by chasing the poacher away."

"No way, seriously?" Ace asked.

"Yeah. He's pretty hot headed, but I think he'll be able to bring her back." Jasper stated. "Its better if we just wait here for her."

"You have way too much confidence in this kid…" Katia grumbled. Jasper just kept staring at the forest.

* * *

Flashback:

"… _Hey, Jasper?"_

"_What's up, Keiichi?"_

"_I know this is weird but… I know Akemi's gonna be a real pain in the butt to handle… but if she runs off, don't go after her."_

"_Huh? Why?"_

"_Cause it takes someone who's just as hot headed as her to talk her down from something that would upset her…" Keiichi replied with a sigh. "It's not easy to keep an eye on her, and she's always doing things her own way… but if it's ever about poachers if she runs off, it's usually better to let her work it out herself…"_

"_Why's that?"_

"… _she can be super violent…" the black haired boy's voice was almost trembling. "If the subject of poacher's comes up, don't try and calm her down, okay?"_

"… _got it."_

* * *

"Jasper?" Miyako tapped on the boy's shoulder, causing him to turn and look at her. "Are you okay?"

"… I really hope it wasn't poachers who set the fire."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, if it was poachers… Akemi's gonna probably blow up." Jasper stated. "So I hope it wasn't poachers, is all…"

* * *

Braxton landed in the middle of the forest and returned Charizard. He then released his Ludicolo. "Ludicolo, use Rain Dance."

"Ludi ludi colo." The pokemon nodded and performed the move, the rain clouds slowly gathering and showering the water onto the forest. He then heard someone screaming and headed towards the voices, soon coming upon a scene of what looked almost like boxing ring after a cage match. A little girl with blue hair was beating on a man twice her size with what looked like a walking stick. He also noted a Riolu trying to break into a cage with a large Pidgeot inside, the bird pokemon looking like it had been beaten up really badly.

"YOU DAMN POACHERS SHOULD ALL JUST DIE!" the girl stated, whacking the poacher with all her might, throwing the stick aside and proceeding to kick him in the stomach, causing him to cough. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO POKEMON?! WHO THE HELL GAVE YOU ANY RIGHT TO HURT POKEMON LIKE THIS!?" she exclaimed as the Riolu broke the cage, immediately running back to the girl and pulling her back. "GO TO HELL AND ROT, YOU BASTARD!" Braxton noticed the girl crying, and the Pidgeot shakily standing and getting out of the cage before collapsing on the ground. He noticed that its wing was badly damaged. He immediately went over to her and pulled her away, the poacher falling unconscious as Akemi threw a rock at his face. Akemi turned and struck out at Braxton, the boy blocking her punch.

"Cool down."

"… Who the hell are you?" the girl wiped her tears away, trying to pretend like she wasn't crying.

"Name's Braxton… Braxton Rivers… You're Keiichi's kid sister?"

"… That's right."

"Man..." He knelt in front of her. "Don't cry, kid. You just beat up a poacher and probably saved that Pidgeot's life…" he said, staring at her. "Be happy."

"… How can I be happy?" she asked, eyes still wet with tears. "Pidgeot still got hurt…"

"Can't help that there are bad eggs in the world, you know." Braxton pat the girl's head, her Riolu jumping into her arms and nuzzling her. "See? Your Riolu wants you to be happy too." He stated, Akemi looking at her partner before looking up at Braxton. "Let's go get your friend back to town and help him get treated for injuries, okay?"

"… okay." She nodded as the rain stopped.

* * *

When Braxton brought Akemi back, everyone seemed relieved that she was okay, aside from her hands hurting from grabbing the stick that she'd been using to beat up the poacher. Officer Jenny arrested the poacher, telling Braxton to come by the station after he saw the little girl off to the clinic and the Pidgeot to the Pokemon Center. They went to the Center first, leaving Pidgeot with Nurse Joy and Chansey to get better before taking Akemi to get her hands patched up.

"Reckless kid." Jasper smiled at Akemi as she came out of the clinic, hands wrapped in bandages. "Keii was right, you've got one heck of a temper with poachers."

"… Yeah." She mumbled, averting her gaze.

"But~ You taught him a lesson. So good job~"

"… Thanks, I guess." She mumbled, soon getting karate chopped over the head by Katia. "OW!"

"Idiot! You had us worried!" the brunette scolded, Miyako giving Akemi an ice pack.

"Before a lump forms." She stated, smiling a little. "And welcome back…"

"Thanks…" Akemi mumbled, Ace proclaiming that he'd make her a good meal for a job well done. The girl turned to see Braxton heading for the station. "Wait." He stopped and turned to her. "… I'm coming with you." She stated.

"… Well hurry up then. Can't keep an officer waiting." He stated, Akemi following with Riolu in tow. The others looked at one another, wondering what was happening.

* * *

At the station, Officer Jenny lead Braxton and Akemi into a room, and after a few minutes, allowed them to leave. "Thank you for your cooperation." Jenny stated, looking at Akemi before turning to Braxton. "Take care."

"Thank you, Officer." Braxton smiled before leading Akemi outside again. "You got off lucky… you could get in serious trouble for doing stuff like that to people."

"He was a poacher… besides I didn't kill him… I just beat him up…"

"Yes yes." Braxton said as they rejoined the rest of the group.

"What was that about?" Katia asked, looking at Akemi.

"Were they asking for a statement?" Miyako questioned.

"Man, that was really something, you brought back that poacher so fast." Ace told Braxton.

"No it wasn't me." Braxton shook his head, looking down at the bluenette girl. "Akemi's the one who got him… all I did was drag his sorry ass back here."

"Huh?"

"Akemi did?"

"Of course I did." Akemi looked up at the others. "I hate nothing more than poachers…" her glare was sharp and cold, the girl turning to head towards the pokemon center to check on the Pidgeot, everyone else standing in her wake for a moment to take in what had just been said.

"Geez, she's so troublesome…" Jasper chuckled. "Oh well~" he turned to Braxton. "Thanks for helping us out. I'll make a call to Keii and tell him you saved us yet again." He smiled.

"Not done yet."

"Huh?"

"You guys are gonna head to Pewter City next, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I have some business there before I head out to look for a pokemon to round out my team."

"A pokemon?" Jasper asked. "What kind?"

"I dunno… probably a Bagon or Deino… or maybe a Zorua, not sure yet." He shrugged. "But I'll be changing regions after I finish my business in Pewter City."

"Oh, alright then." Jasper nodded. "Come along with us, then."

"Hey don't make decisions for us!" Katia exclaimed as they headed to the pokemon center. But when they arrived, an oversized pidgey flew past them and through the open door, landing near Akemi who was keeping an eye on Pidgeot as he recovered. "Oi, Akemi."

"…"

"Akemi?" Miyako tapped the girl on the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"… Yeah." Akemi turned to Miyako and the others, then back to Pidgeot. "… Nurse Joy said he might not be able to fly anymore…"

"What?"

"No way…"

"The poacher was trying to clip his wings, so he might not be able to fly…" she mumbled. "… This is why I hate poachers…" she muttered, gaze dropping to the floor to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. "… no pokemon should be treated this way…" she clenched her hand into a weak fist and looked back up at Pidgeot, who had opened its eye to look at her. "… Please get better… your flock needs you, right?" she asked, the Pidgeot staring at her before nodding its head lightly and closing its eye again. Riolu, who was sitting on Akemi's shoulder, jumped to stand on the rail next to where pidgey landed and pet the bird's head.

"Wan wan~" he smiled reassuringly, the bird pokemon nodding and looking back at where the Pidgeot lay.

"Come on." Akemi offered her arm for the pidgey to perch on. "Let's go get your friend something good to eat, okay? For when he's better." Pidgey turned to the girl and stared at her before perching on her arm, Riolu jumping to sit on her shoulder again before she turned to her group. "So, shall we go get something to eat? I won't leave town until Pidgeot's better." She smiled a little bit, despite how upsetting the situation was.

"Sounds good." Jasper smiled, Braxton and the others all nodding in agreement.

* * *

((And here's the next chapter o v o

Thanks to Golden-Black Dragon for putting Braxton forward for use, and I hope I wrote him in well ; v ;'''

Hope you all like this chapter, and yes, Akemi when angry at a poacher = very strong, violent, and dangerous 11 year old.

Look forward to the next chapter~

-Winter Cheshire))


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Onward to Pewter City**

* * *

Akemi spent the next couple of days almost exclusively at the Pokemon Center, only ever leaving to train with Riolu or to check on the Pidgey and Pidgeotto from Route 1. The blue haired girl watched as Miyako headed off, her next contest beginning in Cerulean City soon. "I hope we meet again, everyone~" Akemi had seen her off cheerfully, but she was obviously kind of sad that the black haired girl left so soon. She watched as Jasper headed out too, the boy saying he needed to go so some important stuff in Lavender Town before heading back to Linnese to visit Keiichi.

"I'll be back in a few months, so I'll call and meet up with you when I get back to Kanto~" he had said cheerfully, ruffling Akemi's hair as he always did before he left that evening. Since Jasper left, Katia and Akemi seemed to be getting into more and more petty arguments. Braxton stuck around since he wanted to make sure the Pidgeot was okay, though he told everyone it was just him waiting for Akemi. Ace stuck around too, since he had nothing better to do at the moment. And Katia, well…

"Seriously, how many more days is she gonna be here?!" the girl complained. "If she's not ready to leave by tomorrow I'll leave her here."

"No, you won't." Braxton stated. "You're worried about her."

"Sh-shut up!" she turned away from the blonde as Akemi looked up from her chair.

"Just leave if you want. I told you from the beginning I didn't need help." Akemi stated to the brunette, the girl glaring at Akemi.

"I've had enough of your bratty attitude! If you want me to leave, fine!" she stated, turning away and leaving the pokemon center without another word, Akemi just staring as she went. Braxton sighed and looked over at Akemi, the girl's Riolu jumping up to comfort his trainer, petting her head.

"Wan wan…"

"I'm fine." She whispered, hugging her pokemon to her and nuzzling him a little. "I'm fine, Riolu…"

"Hey, guys I'm ba-!" Ace paused as he walked in the door, seeing Akemi looking upset and no sign of Katia. "Uh… what happened?"

"Katia left." Braxton stated, shrugging his shoulders. "She got tired of waiting, I guess."

"That's too bad…" Ace mumbled, feeling a little awkward now that he'd been so cheerful, but decided that he'd rather be cheerful and maybe get Akemi to smile, even if he had to make a fool of himself. "So anyway! I found this great machine in front of the store over there!" he pulled out some small round capsules from the bag. "Here, look!" he opened some of them and revealed a bunch of small trinkets and stuff. "Akemi, this one suits you I think!" he gave the charm to the girl, grinning. "And this suits your cool personality, Braxton!" he handed the older boy a black cord bracelet. "And for Riolu~" he offered the little pokemon a stretchy armband. "These would've been good for the others but if we run into them we can give these to them!" he said as he showed them all the other capsules and stuff he'd pulled out.

"…" Akemi stared at the trinket and looked up at Ace. "… Thank you." She mumbled, looking back at the charm in her hand. It wasn't much of a response, so Ace slumped a little.

"N-no problem~! Ahaha!"

"Wan wan~" Riolu bowed his head in thanks, stretching the arm band and putting it on his left wrist, getting up and tugging at Akemi's hand with a smile. "Wan wan~ Wan wan~"

"Alright, alright." She said, standing up as Riolu jumped off her lap. "I'll be outside training."

"O-okay, I'll get started on lunch~!" Ace waved at her as she walked out, sighing once she left. "Man, the poor kid… she's pretty sad that no one's sticking around, even though she said she didn't care…"

"Do you blame her? Miyako was being nice to her and Jasper's someone she sort of knew already… Katia may have a bit of a mean streak, but she was caring enough about Akemi's wellbeing, right?" Braxton looked to Ace. "And she knows I'm taking off after we get to Pewter City… I doubt she's going to be too bummed but she does appreciate her friends… so when they split up it makes her sad."

"… Guess so." He smiled a little. "… I'm gonna go find Katia and change her mind!"

"Huh?"

"I'll come back and make lunch!" he stated, rushing off after leaving all his supplies with Braxton, hurrying to look for the brunette girl. Braxton sighed, putting the groceries down.

"I wonder if they would be alright if the two of them were travelling alone?" he thought about it. "No… no… definitely not okay." He shook his head, ruffling his own hair. "Not to mention, Keiichi would probably freak out that his sister was alone with an older boy…" he sat down and waited, seeing Nurse Joy walking over.

* * *

Akemi stood outside, Riolu shadow boxing as his trainer stared blankly into the distance. The oversized Pidgey was watching from the tree, having been sticking around Akemi and Riolu more and more as Pidgeot recovered. It landed on Akemi's head, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Huh?" she looked up, seeing the Pidgey staring back at her. "Oh… hello again." The pokemon cooed and flew off her head, sitting instead on top of a bush. "What is it?"

"Pid pid." The bird flapped his wings and looked cheerful, pulling a shiny thing from its feathers and offering it to the girl. Akemi opened her hand and Pidgey dropped the item for her, the bluenette seeing that it was a silver ring that looked like it used to be part of a necklace.

"You're… giving this to me?" she asked, confused. Pidgey nodded. "… Thank you…" she smiled, putting it away in her pocket, staring at the ground. She slumped to the ground, feeling unwell, Riolu immediately rushing over to her.

"Wan wan?"

"Did they leave because they're scared of me?" she asked Riolu, the pokemon shaking his head adamantly. "Miyako seemed apprehensive of me before she left… Jasper left for reasonable reasons, I guess…" she mumbled, trying to talk herself down from her earlier statement. "Katia's just mad at me… I made her mad at me, huh?" she laid her head against her knees and made herself as small as she could. "I'm no good at talking to people…"

* * *

"Katia!"

"What do you want?!"

"Come back, please!"

"HELL NO, GO AWAY!" Katia was essentially being chased around town by Ace as he tried to get the girl to come back to the pokemon center. This continued until Katia turned and confronted Ace. "Why the hell should I go back?!"

"Come on, Katia." Ace complained. "Akemi's hot tempered, but she DOES like having us around you know. I mean, come on." He said, staring at the girl. "Sure she has to go out on her own, but at least leave on a nicer note… if you're mad, you'll feel bad for it later."

"Shut up, I will not." Katia scoffed. "Besides, she's such a pain in the ass."

"If she's such a pain in the ass why didn't you leave sooner?" Ace asked, causing Katia to pause.

* * *

"Akemi?" the girl looked up to see Braxton standing next to her. "Get up."

"What?" she asked, rubbing her tears away. She felt a soft touch on the top of her head, looking up more to see Pidgeot smiling at her. "Y-you're better…" she stood up and hugged the pokemon, the bird petting her head and allowing her to hug him.

"Pidgeoooo." He cooed, the Pidgey perching on the Pidgeot's shoulder.

"Pid pid~"

"I'm glad you're better… you should get back to your home, your flock must be worried." She said, the Pidgeot nodding and nudging her cheek with his beak before he stretched his wings and took off. As soon as Pidgeot was gone, Akemi felt her eyes get watery. Braxton sighed and turned away to let the girl cry silently. After she stopped sobbing, he sighed.

"You ready to head back?" he asked, turning to look at her. She stood up and nodded, rubbing her eyes as Riolu perched himself on her shoulder. He began walking, the girl following close behind him. "You know… that's part of being a trainer too…"

"… I know." She stated, sniffling a little still. Braxton just walked with her back to the Pokemon Center, not speaking on the matter. When they arrived, they noticed Ace waving at them before motioning to the person next to him. Akemi stopped and realized who it was. "… Katia?"

"… Don't get me wrong, you're still a pain in the ass… but you've got style and moxy for a kid your age." She stated. "I'm only staying cause I want to see how much stronger you get." Braxton smirked and Ace grinned. Akemi nodded, smiling a little.

"Okay."

* * *

After lunch, the group was preparing their gear for the trip out to Pewter City the following morning when they noticed the oversized Pidgey sitting in a tree outside. Akemi wandered over and offered her arm for the pidgey to land on. It nuzzled up against her cheek and cooed. "What's wrong?"

"Pid pid~" it looked up at her and flapped its wings. "Pid pid~"

"Huh…?" she stared at him in confusion. "You… want me to take you along?"

"Pid pid~" the flying type nodded.

"… You sure…?"

"Pid pid!" the pokemon flapped his wings more and nodded more vigorously. Akemi nodded, going to search for a pokeball in her bag as the Pidgey waited patiently. Braxton quirked an eyebrow, watching on with Ace and Katia as the little bluenette captured this strangely oversized pidgey without lifting a finger.

"… now what to name you?" she let the pokemon out and let him perch on her arm. "Hmm… you look like a good, strong Pidgey… what shall I call you?" she asked, tilting her head. The Pidgey tilted his head with hers, the girl looking to Riolu. "Shall we name him… Abel?"

"Wan wan." Riolu nodded, looking to Pidgey. "Wan wan wan?"

"Pid pid~" the Pidgey flapped his wings more and nodded.

"Welcome aboard, then." Akemi smiled, looking up as Braxton and Ace walked over, congratulating her for her first pokemon.

"Not all pokemon will be this easy to catch." Braxton reminded her.

"I know." She nodded. Katia looked over at the girl, making eye contact with the younger female and turning away, Akemi petting her new Pidgey's head before going over to Katia. "Hey."

"What do you want?"

"A battle… I want to show you what I can do."

"Oh?" Katia turned to Akemi. "Bold words for a kid."

"Even so, I want to."

"Fine. Single, or double?"

"… Single."

"Fine with me. Smart move on your part." She added, picking up a pokeball and going outside to an open area with the girl. "Braxton, referee."

"Don't boss people around." The blonde stated, going to take the position of referee anyway. Akemi stood opposite Katia, Abel sitting on a wall nearby as Riolu took the field.

"Using your Riolu?" Katia released her pokemon. Venonat jumped on the field looking enthusiastic for a battle. "Fine with me."

"Alright, this is a one on one battle with Akemi and Riolu against Katia and Venonat! Ready, begin!"

"Venonat, Supersonic!" The bug type's move hit, and Riolu immediately became confused. "Go in and use Psybeam!"

"Riolu, dodge it!" Despite his confusion, the little pokemon managed to dodge. "Shake it off, Riolu! Use Quick Attack!" her partner began his charge, but he missed and ended up tripping and falling. "Ahh, Riolu!"

"Venonat, Psybeam!"

"Riolu, dodge!" the pokemon managed to dodge again, Akemi looking concerned.

"Come on, thought you wanted to battle." Katia stated, looking a little smug. "Venonat, Psybeam again!"

"Riolu, snap out of it!" Riolu shook his head, snapping out of his confusion and barely rolling away from the Psybeam. "Now, Quick attack!"

"Wan wan!" Riolu charged, barreling into Venonat.

"Giga Drain!" The Venonat, having the close range attack, managed to use the move effectively, leaving Riolu somewhat weak. "Now, go in for one last Psybeam and finish this up!"

"Riolu, dodge and use Quick attack to get close!"

"No good, Giga Drain!"

"Turn and dodge it, then Force Palm!" the little blue pokemon managed to move just enough to get in the hit. But Riolu was on his last legs, the little one struggling to even remain standing.

"Braxton, call the match!" Ace stated, but the older boy shook his head.

"Venonat, Psybeam!" but as the pokemon fired his attack, Akemi jumped in and grabbed Riolu out of the way. "What the-?!"

"That's enough." Akemi stated.

"Che, that was stupid, if you wanted to call the match why didn't you-?"

"I wasn't talking to you!" Akemi glared at Katia before she turned to her Riolu. "What were you thinking?" she asked her partner, the little blue pokemon having fainted. "I wish you would be more careful… pushing yourself like that was dangerous…" she muttered, cradling her pokemon before she carried him back to the pokemon center.

"What is her problem?! AUGHH!" Katia was frustrated with Akemi's behavior, but when Braxton walked up, she turned to him. "What's up with her?!"

"She's this reckless, huh?" he sighed. "Man, no wonder Keiichi was so worried about her." He looked to Katia, then back to where Akemi was walking. "She wasn't battling to prove something to you, despite what she said… she was trying to see if her Riolu was up to snuff as a battler… but against a more experienced trainer she probably knew she was no match."

"Then why didn't she just-?!"

"She didn't call the battle because Riolu wanted to keep going… but Riolu fainted just before the Psybeam hit, so when she noticed he was losing consciousness, she went to get him out of the way." Braxton stated. "There would have been no point in her calling out to you to stop Venonat since the attack was already launched…"

"That was way too intense." Ace sighed, looking exhausted. "So… are we gonna wait out here?"

"No, we should make sure Akemi's okay." Braxton stated, leading the others towards the pokemon center. "But you did good, Katia… you opened her eyes to how strong other trainers are out in the real world." He said. "But don't expect her attitude to improve any… just expect her to ask you for a lot more battles."

"… whatever." Katia turned her head, Ace following them as they made it to the pokemon center. Akemi was sitting at a table, staring at the door where Riolu had gone in.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Ace asked, smiling. "I can make lunch now~" Akemi turned to him and stared before nodding her head a little. "Great~! I'll make lunch right now, then!" he stated, going to make lunch as Katia and Braxton sat near Akemi. None of them spoke as Akemi continued to stare at the door, though things seemed much calmer now that the battle was over. But when Ace finished cooking, Akemi refused to eat. "What's wrong?"

"… Nothing… I just want to wait for Riolu, is all."

"Ok… okay." Ace nodded.

"You might be waiting a while." Katia stated.

"… I know."

"Well, suit yourself." Katia said, eating her share along with the others, Akemi just sitting and staring at the door. "… are you gonna get like this every time your Riolu gets hurt?"

"… so what if I am?"

"… nothing." Katia went back to eating.

* * *

The next morning, Riolu was cleared to go and everyone had packed up, heading out into the Viridian Forest. As they walked, the group soon got back into a friendlier mood. "So, Akemi. Are you a Coordinator, like Myako?" Ace asked.

"Who, me…? No, I'm not a coordinator. I'm going to do gym battles."

"Whaaat, seriously?" Ace asked, Katia rolling her eyes.

"The way you battle, you'd never win against a gym leader." The brunette stated. "But… whatever you're gonna do, at least you're enthusiastic."

"Wan?" Riolu was walking with his trainer, eating the biscuit that he'd been given at the pokemon center. The group kept together and everything seemed to be doing alright, making their way through the forest and to the exit that lead into Pewter City.

* * *

((Here's the next chapter~ ; v ;

Jasper and Miyakohave gone off to do their own thing, we hope to see them again soon o v o

And as for the others, we look forward to their adventure together~

For now, the OC search is closed, but stay tuned. I might call for another couple of OCs for guest appearances throughout the region~

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and I hope to get more reviews soon~

-Winter Cheshire))


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Bull-Headedness versus a Rock Wall**

* * *

Akemi woke from her sleep with a jolt, a nightmare ringing fresh in her mind. Riolu sat up and looked up at her, nuzzling her tummy since he was too far and too tired to hug onto her neck. "Wan wan?"

"No, sorry... I-i'm okay." she pet Riolu's head, smiling a little as her pokemon nodded and laid his head back down. She calmed herself down and waited for the sun to come up. Today was the day Braxton was heading out... but he'd agreed to stay and watch her gym battle as a going away present of sorts. His plane didn't come in till after dinner anyway. Akemi told herself that she was going to fight hard for that first badge. But with only two pokemon at her side, would it be enough? She had heard that the Pewter City gym was a rock type gym and even though Riolu was a fighting type, Abel was a flying type. He would be a lot less effective in battle. Despite having trained with the Pidgey almost constantly for the past 2 days while Braxton handled his business in the city, Akemi was worried. Would she be able to win? As the sunlight began to lighten the sky, Akemi smiled a little. "Well, we can try..." she told herself, Riolu sitting up now that he was more conscious, climbing onto his trainer's shoulder. "Today's the day, Riolu... ready to go?"

"Wan wan!" Riolu nodded, smiling, throwing his fist into the air.

* * *

Akemi walked out into the pokemon center's main waiting area and noticed that Braxton was the only one there so far. She assumed Katia went on a run and that Ace might still be sleeping... or buying groceries, whichever one. She walked over and sat with the older trainer, Riolu sitting on the seat next to her. "Morning."

"Morning." Braxton said. "Are you ready for your gym battle?"

"I hope so..." Akemi exhaled heavily before looking up at Braxton. "I know I'm at a type disadvantage with Abel, but..." she rubbed the back of her neck. "I think our training was sufficient..." she looked to Riolu, who was playing with her bag buckles a little. "And Riolu's ready to go." she rubbed Riolu's ear, the pokemon nodding and smiling up at his trainer. "So now we fight hard and hope for the best." she said. Braxton nodded, smiling a little. He could see the family resemblance between Akemi and Keiichi now that she wasn't getting upset at everything around her. When she was calm, there was this look on her face that was exactly like her big brother. But he didn't say anything, knowing she must be missing the panicky older sibling.

"Well, we'll be there cheering you on." he said, noticing Ace returning with arms full of groceries. "Looks like Ace is going a little overboard with your breakfast though..."

"Huh?" Akemi turned as Ace walked over to them.

"Akemi, I'm gonna make you a first class breakfast to get you through your gym battle today!" he exclaimed, grinning wide. "Look forward to it, okay?"

"Uh... o-okay..." she nodded, a little shocked that he'd bought so much food. It worried her a little bit. As Ace ran off to use the pokemon center's kitchen, Katia returned from her run. "Welcome back..." Akemi said as the brunette walked over.

"I'm surprised you weren't up training this morning." Katia tousled the girl's hair.

"Well I don't want to over work my pokemon right before a battle... besides, we trained pretty late last night, so I figured I would just let them sleep and rest up this morning." Akemi replied.

"Smart." Katia said, nodding her head. "But you'd better fight hard. I wanna see if that training you were doing is paying off." she added, making Akemi nod her head. "Good." she sat down after stretching to cool down, waiting for Ace to finish cooking. Akemi continued to pet Riolu's ear, the blue fighting type looking up at her and watching her expression, sensing that she was nervous.

"Wan wan?" he stood up and pat her shoulder. "Wan wan wan~"

"... I know... sorry." she turned to her partner and nodded at his second comment. "Thanks..."

"Wan~" he nodded, taking off his wrist band from Ace and putting it on her wrist. She stared at it for a moment before she smiled wider.

"Silly boy." she scratched behind his ear, making her partner lean into her hand a little. "But you always know what I need..." she sighed a little. "Usually better than I do..."

"Alright guys~!" Ace came back, rolling a cart with all the food on it. "Let's go eat outside so everyone can have a meal together~!" They all headed outside, letting their pokemon out to eat, the trainers sitting on a mat while their pokemon all dug into their meals. Ace began dishing up all the stuff he'd cooked for the trainers, handing Akemi her plate first. "There's plenty so eat up, okay?"

"... Thank you..." Akemi said, eating even more quietly than usual. But she was happy... excited even, for the chance to be in a gym battle. She sat silently, gazing at the table top as Riolu did the same, but occasionally glancing up at his blunette trainer. After a little while, Ace returned with platefuls of breakfast like foods, including crisped bacon, zesty sausages, made to order eggs, breakfast rolls with all the fixings, and sliced fruits and berries.

"Eat up, Akemi!" Ace grinned, handing the girl a plate with a biscuit and piped jam that read "Aim for Victory at Pewter Gym!" on it, surrounded by all her favorite fruits and berries along with a side plate of patty breakfast sausage and hashed potatoes.

"Dude that's so cheesy." Katia said, snickering as she noticed the message. But she then looked up at Akemi and noticed the 11-year-old with tears in her eyes. "O-oi!"

"A-akemi…?"

"… I…" Akemi covered her face and sobbed into her hands, shaking her head back and forth to try and calm down. Ace panicked a little but Braxton sighed, leaning his chin on his hand as his elbow sat on the table top. "Thank you… Ace…"

"Y-you're welcome!" he stated, still wondering why she was crying. But Braxton made a motion for both of the younger trainers to remain silent as the little bluenette calmed herself down. The group waited for Akemi to get her bearings before digging into their food.

* * *

Braxton was on the phone with Keiichi while Katia and Ace were keeping an eye on Akemi and her pokemon doing their stretching exercises. "Keiichi, she's seriously doing it. Battling a gym leader."

"You're kidding!" Keiichi sounded panicked. "M-my baby sister is fighting her first gym battle!"

"Yes yes, calm down…" Braxton said sighing. "She's strong, but she's still inexperienced… she just lost to Katia pretty recently. I doubt she can take out a gym leader so easily."

"Well…" Keiichi smiled. "Akemi's bull-headed, just like mother was… so she'll do it her way or no way." He seemed to be calmer now after mentioning his mother. "But she's also smart, she fights strategically. Always has. I think she'll be okay."

"Suit yourself, Keiichi. But don't freak out if she calls and says she lost."

* * *

Akemi arrived at the gym and stared at the door, sighing a little. "Well, we're here huh?" she asked, Riolu nodding as he sat on her shoulder.

"Well? Go in already." Braxton stated. "You want to challenge the gym leader, right?"

"R-right…" she tensed at Braxton's words, Riolu patting her head and giving her a little encouragement. He pointed to the door with a grin.

"Wan wan wan~!"

"That's easy for you to say…" she sighed, taking a breath. She walked forward and pushed the large doors open, looking around. It was dark… it was desolate looking, from what she could see… She walked further in when the lights burst on and a man was standing there on the other side of the field.

"Welcome." He stated. His eyes were squinty and he stood there confidently. Akemi stopped, stunned. So this was a gym leader? "Oh? Are you the one challenging me, little one?" he asked, looking straight at Akemi, the girl withdrawing a little.

"Wan wan!" Riolu raised his fist at the man, the onlookers seeming surprised at the little one's enthusiasm.

"Haha, well the little blue friend on your shoulder seems ready." He directed his attention to Akemi again. "But are you?" Akemi took a breath and planted her foot.

"… I… I'm here to challenge the Pewter City Gym!" she stated. The entire gym floor lit up and the battle field before them was illuminated.

"Very good." He nodded, smiling. "Step forward to the battle field and tell me your name." Akemi did as instructed, walking into the white lined rectangle meant for the trainer to stand in.

"My name is Akemi… Akemi Ryugazaki." She stated. "And yours?"

"My name is Flint." He stated in reply with a smile. "And it's a pleasure to meet you Akemi." He added as Braxton, Katia, and Ace made it to the bleacher seats. "How many pokemon do you have?"

"… Two."

"Then we shall have a two-on-two battle. One pokemon on the field at the time. You will be the only one allowed substitutions." He stated. "The winner will be determined when both pokemon of either side are unable to battle. Clear?"

"… Alright…"

"Good. Brock!" a young boy around Akemi's age came down to the referee stand. "You'll be our ref for the day."

"Right!" the boy seemed bright and he looked just like his father. Braxton glanced behind where Akemi's onlookers had seated themselves and noticed a bunch of kids. Maybe 5 or 6 of them? But he said nothing, turning back to the battle field. "The match between Akemi the Challenger and Flint the Gym Leader will now commence! Each is allowed two pokemon and battles will be one-on-one! Only the challenger will be allowed to substitute pokemon! When either side's pokemon are no longer able to battle, the winner will be declared! Are both parties ready?!" both sides nodded. "Then begin!"

"Golem!" Flint called out his round rock and ground type pokemon. It planted its feet and roared, Akemi sighing and taking the pokeball from her hip. She tossed it into the air and Abel emerged, flapping his wings. "Ooh, a pidgey?"

"Abel. I hope you're ready for a fight cause this isn't going to be easy…"

"Pid pid pid!" Abel flapped his wings and nodded, glaring at the opponent.

"You have the first move, little lady." Flint said, Akemi nodding her head.

"Abel, start us off." She sighed, taking a breath. "Use Gust!" the Pidgey kicked up the gravelly floor.

"Stand your ground, Golem." The pokemon did as directed. Akemi smiled. "Smiling already?"

"Maybe just a bit." She replied. "Abel, Sand Attack!" the pidgey nodded, kicking up its pace and unleashing it's second move. Flint seemed the slightest bit shocked, as though he'd been expecting a head on attack.

"Golem, use Stone Edge!" his pokemon fired off the attack, but Abel's attacks sent them flying right back towards the ground. "What power…"

"These attacks won't do a dent in a pokemon like Golem…" she mumbled, biting her knuckle a little in frustration. "But a head on attack is too risky…" she pondered. "But… it seems like none of the other attacks will do any good…"

"Golem, Defense Curl!"

* * *

"Oh no…" Ace mumbled, seeing the Golem using it's move. "At this rate she'll never wear it down…"

"Relax. She was doing special training remember?" Braxton said, rolling his shoulders. "Besides, that Pidgey's no ordinary Pidgey."

"What, it's not? I mean, I know it's over sized but…"

"Relax, Ace." Braxton repeated himself for the boy. "She's got this under control."

* * *

"Abel! Ready the assault!" Akemi stated, the Pidgey nodding and letting his attacks fade. A glow built up in his wings and Flint's eyebrows raised.

"Oh…?" Golem peeked up from its defensive huddle.

"Now! Steel wing!"

"Golem, Defense Curl!" Golem steeled itself, Abel flying straight into the pokemon's defenses. Flint and Akemi watched as the fight went on, Akemi seeming worried about Abel's health as he continued his assault. They continued to fight and the second Abel faltered, Golem came out of its curl. "Golem, Stone Edge!" Abel went down, falling unconscious.

"Golem wins!" Akemi ran out to the field and picked up her pidgey, smiling as he came to.

"You did good, Abel." Akemi pet his head and kissed the top of his head. "Thanks. Rest up." She fed him an oran berry before returning him to his pokeball, walking back to her place in the white lined rectangle. "Riolu."

"Wan." The little blue pokemon nodded and got up from where he'd been sitting and watching, jumping onto the battle field. "Wan wan!"

"A declaration of battle, eh?" Flint nodded and crossed his arms. "Let's see how you fare, little one. Golem, Earthquake!"

"Riolu, jump!" Riolu avoided the attack by jumping into the air. "Force Palm when you land!" Flint watched as a huge dust cloud kicked up and the field became clouded. Akemi took a breath before muttering her order. "Force Palm." Riolu appeared at Golem's side in an instant, slamming his attack into the pokemon's side and sending it skidding a little before he jumped away again. Golem was searching for the Riolu as Flint called his next move.

"Use Stone Edge, clear the dust!"

"I don't think so! Riolu, end it!" A blue light slammed into Golem and sent it flying back towards his trainer, unconscious. The dust settled and revealed the outcome.

"Winner, Riolu!" Brock called as Flint returned his pokemon.

"Not bad, kid. But you've gone and backed yourself into a bit of a corner." He released his second pokemon, the huge form blocking out some of the light. "Onyx. Let's get this show on a roll. Use Tackle!"

"Riolu, take the hit!"

"What?!" Katia exclaimed. "Oi, there's no way Riolu can-!"

"WAN!" Riolu was slammed into head on, but it was braced so well in the ground that Onyx couldn't push him out of the ring.

"Counter!" Onyx flew back a little, seeming surprised that such a small opponent had that level of power.

"Ohh, that was a nice move." Flint stated. "But at what cost? Onyx, Bind!"

"Riolu, dodge it!" Riolu managed to narrowly avoid the attack, but stumbled.

"Onyx, Bind once more!" This time the attack was dead on target, but as Riolu was grabbed, Akemi seemed calm.

"Riolu! Max Power, Aura Sphere!" The little pokemon smirked, revealing that he'd been charging his move since before Flint called his first Bind attack. The little blue pokemon let the attack go and it sent Onyx skidding back towards his trainer, damaged.

"Impressive." Flint stated, noting that Onyx and Riolu were both winded. "You're a very good trainer."

"Thank you… but I've got a lot of work to do." She stated. "But for now… this will do. Riolu, move in with Quick Attack, then end it with Force Palm." The pokemon did as instructed, Onyx closing his eyes in defeat.

"You realized it too, Onyx?" Flint asked as his pokemon fell unconscious. "She's just like her father and mother…"

"O-onyx is unable to battle! Riolu wins! The victory goes to Akemi!"

* * *

"… Holy…" Ace fell back in his seat, having stood up during the battle. "That was… insane…"

"Crazy kid… was relying on Riolu from the start." Katia grumbled.

"Of course." Braxton stated. "But she trusted Abel to weaken the Golem so Riolu wouldn't waste energy. It was a smart move, considering she only has two pokemon…"

"That was reckless, though!" the brunette girl stated, Braxton rolling his eyes at her a little. Akemi accepted her badge and the group headed back towards the pokemon center.

* * *

"You won?! REALLY?!" Keiichi cheered, you could almost hear the fireworks (and his personal waterworks) from Akemi's end of the line as Keiichi turned away to calm down, Luce looking up at the screen from his sitting position nearby. "AKEMI I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" Keiichi exclaimed, nearly smashing himself into the computer screen, only to be stopped by LaMuse, his mother's Ninetales.

"Ni ni~" LaMuse placed her paw on the screen, Akemi smiling and bowing her head to the fox pokemon.

"Wan wan~ Riolu waved at the pokemon that had once helped his own mother in her ventures of herbal remedies.

"Akemi." Keiichi adjusted himself to be presentable again and smiled. "I'm really proud… do what you can, make it as far as you want, and once you're done, come home okay?"

"… I will, Keii." She nodded, smiling. "Thanks…" both sides hung up after saying their goodbyes after Ace called for Akemi to come eat. The table was lined with all kinds of sandwiches, Akemi smiling as she sat down. "Thanks for the food, Ace."

* * *

After the group had eaten their dinner and headed towards the port to see Braxton off, Akemi stood staring at the sea while the plane was de-boarding. "Hey." Braxton walked up next to her and placed a hand on her head. "I'm leaving soon. You gonna be okay?"

"I'll live…" she sighed a little. "How did I do?"

"Not bad… but if you're gonna beat the other 7 gyms to get into the Kanto League, you're gonna have one hell of a time." He stated. "Train hard, kid, and you might just make it to the Indigo League."

"I'll assume you'll be there?"

"Likely. If you make it."

"Then sure." She turned to him. "See you at the Indigo League, Braxton." The pair shook hands and they waited for a short while before parting ways when Braxton was called to board the plane. Not long after, Katia, Ace, and Akemi returned to the Pokemon Center for the night, Akemi's head spinning. She was going to enter the Indigo League? Man, that was a lot of pressure… she turned to her sleeping Riolu and smiled a little. "… We'll do it… together…" she smiled more as Riolu rolled over and muttered in his sleep, allowing herself to slowly drift off into her slumber.

* * *

((Finally a new chapter up- /sobs

Sorry for the long wait. Braxton has departed our lovely group and is now on his way to round off his party! Will we see him again? Count on it!

Anyway, I'm sick and finishing up Summer Semester so I won't be writing for a couple of weeks. See you all again soon, and I hope you like this chapter~

-Winter Cheshire))


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Route 4's Mysterious Pitfalls**

* * *

Akemi was walking with Katia and Ace through the route's winding cave. They'd managed to pass through unharmed and were now on Route 4 when they heard someone calling for help. They checked around and soon found a couple of young hikers being helped out by an older man, but the man's equipment was a little old and the rope was fraying. Ace and Katia ran over to help, Akemi following close behind. "What happened?" Ace questioned.

"My grandkids wanted to come hiking with me, but when we got up here they ran ahead of me and this pit trap was here." He said, thanking the pair for their help. He noticed Akemi and her Riolu. "Is that your friend?"

"Yes, her name's Akemi. I'm Ace." The boy grinned.

"Save the introductions for after we get these kids outta here." Katia said, helping pull both the kids up and to safety. "Who the heck digs a pitfall on a hiking trail?!"

"A pokemon." The older of the two boys who'd fallen into the hole stated. "A Sandshrew."

"A Sandshrew?" Akemi asked, seeming confused.

"Yeah, it's just one Sandshrew, it's been digging pitfalls up here for a while."

"Oh that's a bunch of nonsense." The old man scolded. "Pokemon wouldn't have done this to the trail unless there was good reason!"

"And who's to say there isn't gramps?!"

"Oi, stop screaming!" Katia said, making the kid cool his head and walk away from the argument. "… Why's he so worked up?"

"Well…" the old man sighed. "Perhaps it's better we go back to our cabin so I can explain." He said, leading the group back to his cabin. They introduced themselves, the old man's name was Foley and his younger grandson was Roger. The older grandson, who was out still, was named Taylor. "Taylor's friend Mickey is in the hospital because he fell down a large pitfall. A witness described the pokemon that dug it as a Sandshrew with a chip in its tail. That Sandshrew lives around here, separated from the rest of the Sandshrew and Sandslash that inhabit the area." Foley explained. "I think it's a bunch of nonsense, though, all the rumors flowing up."

"Rumors, sir?" Akemi asked, Riolu sipping at his water with a curious look on his face.

"There's been a rumor floating around that it's a Sandshrew with a grudge against people. That chip in its tail seems like it might be from a Poacher's trap you see…" Akemi tensed at the mention of a poacher. "The Sandshrew might be angry because of it, so everyone says… but it seems highly unlikely…" he shook his head. "I mean, why would a poacher want a little Sandshrew? They're easy enough to breed or just capture with a pokeball."

"… Poachers, though, have they been seen here before?"

"Not for a long time, dearie, no worry." Foley said. "This place does however have a bunch of old rusty traps laying around… not very safe." He added. "But the fools around here always rush to conclusions to stir up excitement."

"Gramps thinks the Sandshrew is looking for something." Roger piped in. "Which would explain all the holes." He added, Foley turning to his grandson and nodding. "But big bro Taylor doesn't think so cause of what happened to Mickey."

"Looking for something…?"

"Yeah, like some sort of momento or a treasure." Roger stated. "I used to see it when I was a kid, that Sandshrew. It's always been by itself and it used to dig a lot of small holes in the ground and bury little bits and pieces of stuff."

"So you think it buried something and is going looking for it now?" Ace asked.

"Yes but the pit falls are just getting deeper and deeper, they've caused some people some injuries and that's why everyone around here is getting all upset about it." Foley sighed. "I wish I could help clear up the misunderstanding…"

"…" Akemi stood up. "Roger, where did you used to see the Sandshrew?"

"Huh? Oh, just up the hill near where the cliff face shoots up from the rock surface." He said, standing up. "Gramps, I'll go show her, kay?"

"Alright. Be careful." He said, Katia sighing at Akemi's impulsiveness. "… Your friend doesn't like poachers, I take it?" he asked Katia as Ace ran off to keep an eye on the two younger kids.

"She beat up the last poacher she ran into… with a stick."

"Goodness, how violent." Foley chuckled. "But she seems to have a good heart."

"… I guess." Katia sighed, crossing her arms. "She's a little hard to grasp as a person, but she's pretty straight forward with her intentions. She likes to help… even if she gets herself into trouble doing it."

"Haha, that's a lot like Taylor is… always wanting to do things their own way, right?"

"… yeah." Katia nodded, looking out the window, seeing some dark clouds rolling in. "… Is there a storm coming this way?"

"There shouldn't be…" Foley looked out the window. "Oh dear, I should call Roger and Taylor back…"

* * *

"Here." Roger said, motioning to the spot. There were shallow 3-4 inch holes littering the ground but there were also much deeper holes about the same size. They were old and the dirt was dry from being exposed to the air for so long. "This was when I was little though, so I don't know why…" Akemi walked over to the holes near the cliff face and inspected them, Riolu standing with her as she did so.

"What do you think, Riolu?"

"Wan wan." The pokemon nodded.

"Thought so… just like when that group of Dugtrio showed up at home…"

"Dugtrio? There aren't any Dugtrio around here though." Roger stated.

"Well… Dugtrio sometimes change locations when they feel they've been displaced. And the ground here isn't too hard so they would like it I think." Akemi replied. "Something similar happened when I was back home in Almia, a bunch of Dugtrio got displaced by a natural event. Has there been any big flooding or has some cliff-face collapsed in the past couple of years?"

"Um… I don't think anything collapsed, but someone did start building a big reservoir up on this cliff…" Roger replied, Akemi nodding. "Why?"

"Well these scrape marks are definitely Sandshrew…" she motioned to the cliff face where there were claw marks. "Digging in the dirt, they gotta clean and sharpen their claws right? But over where we ran into you and your family, there were no rocks or cliff faces where they could do that… and the dirt wasn't displaced by digging, it looked like it all just sank in, right?"

"Y-yeah, it just kinda gave way when we were walking." Roger looked fascinated by the girl's knowledge. "How'd you know?"

"If too many tunneling pokemon live in the same place and are uncoordinated, the soft ground like this will give easily under weight. They're trying to figure out a good pattern for their new terrain, but the lower earth is too much like sand for them to get a proper tunnel set in I think…" she pondered. "I'd have to call my brother and Professor Willow back home to confirm… let's go back to the pitfall and get a better look at it."

"Okay!" Ace stood nearby, smiling. Akemi was really smart… like, unbelievably good when it came to pokemon… He'd heard from Jasper that since her mother had been a pokemon professor, she'd grown up basically just reading all the old text books and her mother's notes on pokemon. Jasper described her as a walking Pokemon Encyclopedia that took in information like a sponge did water. Experiences with pokemon were practically absorbed and she retained the information.

"So this is what Jasper meant…" Ace muttered, following them back to where the pitfalls were. But when they arrived, they noticed up the trail some people walking with their pick axes and stuff. Akemi paid no mind as she began inspecting the pitfall, explaining to Roger about the way these tunnels were supposed to work and what made them fail. They soon, however, heard shouting and saw the people with pickaxes rushing up the trail. Roger caught sight of his brother near the front, and a Sandshrew running away.

"That's the Sandshrew!" he exclaimed, Akemi looking up. She cursed a little and let Abel out of his pokeball.

"Abel, go tell Sandshrew to come down here."

"Pid pid!" Abel nodded and flew up, the sight of the oversized pidgey shocking some of the people as they pointed it out. Abel flew alongside the cliff where Sandshrew was running and began talking to it, the pokemon nodding and soon turning into a ball, rolling straight down the hill to Roger and Ace as Akemi called Abel back, the Pidgey landing on her shoulder. Roger caught the little one before it rolled into the pitfall, holding it protectively as the workers came back down the trail, his brother glaring at him.

"Why are you protecting that Sandshrew?!"

"Taylor, calm down!" Foley came out of the house and began calming everyone down, adding that the incoming storm would be causing a lot of problems. The older workers dispersed but Taylor glared at his little brother and the Sandshrew, who freaked out and ran over to Akemi, clinging to her leg. Ace laughed a little, Akemi blinking at the sudden clinging pokemon. Katia came outside and told Foley that the clouds were starting to get closer, not a minute later rain began falling. They all hurried inside, Akemi picking up the Sandshrew and bringing it inside as well, with a long protest from Taylor. Riolu stood with his trainer as she checked over the Sandshrew.

"This tail injury is pretty minor… looks like you scuffled with a Sandslash and lost, huh?"

"San sand shrew." The pokemon nodded. "Sand sand shrew san."

"Mm, territorial scuffles must be common since the Dugtrio and Diglett moved in huh?"

"San san." The pokemon nodded as Akemi talked to it, Roger and Foley looking amazed.

"Akemi, you can talk to pokemon?" Roger asked.

"No, but I can feel their emotions… Sandshrew used to have that little corner at the cliff base to himself. But I guess after the reservoir was built he was pushed out by a Sandslash, who was in turn pushed out by the Dugtrio… or something?" she turned to Sandshrew, who nodded at her. "I assume that since it's a sheltered area, they use it as a nursery for the really young Diglett and it remains abandoned while there are no young ones around."

"So why is the Sandshrew digging all those pitfalls?" Taylor asked, having calmed down. "Or are you gonna tell me that's from the Dugtrio too?" he asked.

"I think… that Sandshrew was trying to mark the places where the trails were weak." Akemi stated. "But, I side with pokemon most of the time so don't take my word for it." She shrugged. "Ask Sandshrew." She said, the pokemon blinking at her and seeming shocked.

"Sand sand shrew?"

"Mmmm… I think Sandshrew wants to show you what it's been doing." Foley nodded at Taylor, who stared at the little pokemon's determined face as he jumped up and headed for the door. "Whoa there little one, the storm is coming. We should wait-" a sudden gust of wind shook the cabin and a rumbling noise was heard, Katia turning to the window to see the cliff face behind the house starting to crack.

"Crap-! Guys move! The cliff behind the cabin is about to give!" the group evacuated the cabin quickly, but Sandshrew took off. Roger ran after it, Taylor doing the same. Katia noticed Akemi take off with Abel and Riolu, cursing under her breath and rushing after her.

"K-katia! Akemi! Wait!" Ace exclaimed.

"Go, I'll go tell the others around here." Foley said, Ace nodding before hurrying after the others.

* * *

"Sandshrew, wait!"

"Roger, come back here! The rain's making the ground slippery!" Taylor caught up with his brother when they stopped, Sandshrew motioning to the pools in the ground that were forming. Small ditches where presumably the Sandshrew had been marking the weakened earth. "… No way…"

"See?! Sandshrew was trying to help!"

"Roger, Taylor, above you!" Akemi called from where she'd stopped, Riolu having sensed something wrong. The cliff face above was loosened thanks to the rain water, boulders starting to break free of the rock face. Taylor blocked his brother against the cliff where the boulders wouldn't fall, expecting to get hit until he heard a Sandslash cry out and he heard gravel clattering down around him. He looked up and saw a Sandslash that had just used the move Crush Claw, the attack's glow fading back as it turned to him.

"Sand slash." It looked to the boy with serious eyes. Taylor looked around and the situation sunk in. Sandslash just saved him and his brother by demolishing the rock that had been coming down the cliff face.

* * *

The group returned to the cabin nearest Foley's, having a meeting with the other people who lived in the area and explaining what had happened. Akemi stood aside with Katia and Ace, watching the group exchange words and keeping an eye on the tempers of people in the room. "Man… this is crazy…" Ace said once it was over. Everyone was concerned and wanting to know how they figured this out, Roger explaining that Akemi had figured it out, everyone looking skeptical that the little bluenette could have known.

"If you want confirmation, I'll call my guardian, a pokemon Professor in Almia. She'll explain this to you." Akemi said. The owner of the cabin lent Akemi his phone and she called Professor Willow's office, the aquanette woman answering and diligently explaining the situation. Once she was done, she went back to work and Akemi hung up. "Believe me now? This sort of thing happens when you create a giant thing like a reservoir before you survey the area for pokemon." She stated, seeming agitated. She stood up and walked away from all the people, Riolu looking worried about her. As soon as the storm finished, they all went outside and saw a bunch more holes in the ground. Akemi went to the cliff face behind Foley's cabin and knelt in front of the scratch marks, sighing. She turned, though, seeing Sandshrew standing there and smiling. "Hello little one…"

"Sand sand shrew…" the pokemon sat next to her and smiled. "Sand sand shrew shrew."

"… I see… you like exploring, huh?"

"Sand."

"Mm… With territory running low, I would assume many of the Sandshrew around here have already left?"

"… Sand sand…" he pulled his tail to him and tapped the ground with it.

"… Oh… I see…" she pet the pokemon's head. "… It's a big world out there…"

"Akemi!" Ace called, running over. "Akemi, one of the neighboring cabins fell into the ground, there's a kid and a pokemon stuck inside!"

"What?!" Akemi got up. "Where?!"

* * *

Upon arriving at the cabin that had fallen in, people were all around and trying to pull the wrecked cabin apart, but their attempts were foiled by the earth collapsing more when they attempted it. No one knew how to get in, and then Sandshrew jumped past them all and into the cabin through a broken window. Akemi ran over to the nearest edge, but was unable to see inside. "Darn it… We need to get that window out of the way."

"I got it." Katia said, stepping forward. "Venonat!" she let out her pokemon, which was light enough to allow it to stand on the cabin without breaking it. "Use Psybeam, take out that window!"

"Veno!" the pokemon unleashed its move, the window falling in and leaving the square space clear.

"Murkrow, you're up next!"

"Starly, you too!" Ace let out his pokemon, Abel flying up to the two and nodding his head as they lowered in a rope to retrieve the kid. Sandshrew helped the little girl up and once she was back to safety, the little pokemon burrowed out through the ground, ending up right next to where Akemi was. The group's heroic efforts were rewarded by a dinner feast, Sandshrew sticking near Akemi the entire time.

"Seems that the little one is fond of you, Akemi." Foley smiled. "You sure do have a way with pokemon."

"Mm, do I?" she asked, looking at the Sandshrew as he ate cheerfully alongside Riolu and Abel and the other's pokemon as well.

* * *

The next morning as the group was leaving, Sandshrew barreled into their way from atop a cliff, staring at Akemi. "Sand sand shrew!"

"Huh…? Battle…?"

"San!"

"U-uh… okay…?" she blinked. "Abel, you're up." She said to the bird as he emerged from his capsule. Riolu watched from his trainer's shoulder.

"Geez, seriously? You always get pokemon to like you." Katia sighed, Ace smiling and watching as Akemi had a quick battle with the Sandshrew, capturing it soon after. "Seriously, you attract pokemon like you're carrying pokenip or something."

"Ehehe, sorry, I can't help it if it's in my blood." She smiled. She let Sandshrew out and Abel and Riolu welcomed him to the party. "Now… what shall I call you, little one?"

"San san?"

"Mmmm… how about… Sanzu?"

"San san!" Sandshrew nodded, smiling up at his new trainer.

"Alright~ It's decided~"

"San sand shrew!"

"Wan wan!"

"Pid pid pid!" Akemi watched, smiling as her pokemon cheered, soon returning Abel and Sanzu to their capsules before picking up Riolu and placing him on her shoulder.

"Can we go now?" Katia asked. "Come on, I wanna make it to Cerulean City by this evening."

"Evening? I hope you're not going to make me run." Akemi said.

"Don't be lazy! Come on!" Katia took off at a brisk jogging pace, Ace rushing to catch up and Akemi sighing. Riolu jumped down and tugged at her leg, smiling.

"Yeah yeah, I know." She said, nodding before starting to run towards Katia and Ace to catch up.

* * *

((Next chapter~ ; v ; Ahaha, Akemi makes another friend and shows off h knowledge of pokemon~

We also see Ace's Starly and Katia's Murkrow make their premier appearances~

Hope you all liked it. Next time, Cerulean City!

We're moving a little faster now that there are only 3 members of the party, aren't we~? o v o

-Winter Cheshire))


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Training! Cerulean City's Unexpected Gauntlet!**

* * *

Upon their arrival in Cerulean City, Akemi nearly keeled over from having run nearly all the way behind Ace and Katia. Katia crossed her arms and said the girl was just being a baby, but when she fell down, the brunette realized something really was wrong. She and Ace carried her to the Pokemon Center and laid her down, Riolu sitting with his trainer and keeping a close eye on her. As Katia ran to get a doctor from a nearby clinic, she ran into a familiar face. "Oh, good evening Katia~" Jasper stood there with a grin. "What's the hurry?"

"Move, pretty boy!" she pushed past him but the clinic door was closed. "Damn it!" she grabbed Jasper's arm and pulled him along to the Pokemon Center where Akemi was laying. "How do we fix her?!" she asked, slightly frazzled.

"Oh… you made her run?" he asked. "Haha, she's fine, just has trouble breathing when she runs." He said, shaking his head. He knelt next to Akemi, waving to Riolu. "Ake?"

"Nnn… Jasper…?"

"Hey. You okay?"

"… I hate running."

"Haha, I noticed. Can you sit up? Need water?"

"… Yes please…" she mumbled, sitting up with Riolu's help and leaning against the back of the couch she'd been on as Ace handed her a bottle of water.

"You're sure you're okay?" Ace asked.

"… I just really hate running… it's why I learned to fight." She stated. "Running is no good for my lungs… that's all…" she pet Riolu's head to soothe her pokemon's nerves, having seen him grasping his pendant in worry. "Hey, easy, I'm okay." She said to her partner pokemon, the little blue fighting-type nodding slowly and hugging onto her. She looked at Katia, who still seemed a little bothered. "… Katia?"

"You need to learn to run!" she stated before storming off. But Akemi noticed that she'd been trembling a little. She was upset… As Ace ran off to get Katia, Akemi sighed and pulled Riolu into her lap.

"… She's mad…"

"Not at you." Jasper stated.

"But she's mad…" Akemi mumbled.

"… Well then what do you say we do some training then? Like you did after you recovered from being sick." Jasper pat her head, causing her to nod. "Good." He smiled more. "Get your room set up while Ace gets Katia. After dinner, we'll start training."

* * *

Katia was lying in bed after dinner, staring at the ceiling. Why had she gotten so freaked out when Akemi fell down when they arrived in the city? She just shook her head and told herself not to worry about it, getting up to turn off the light when she heard a whistle. She looked out the window and her eyes went wide, seeing Jasper in a track suit jogging backwards as Akemi jogged alongside him. She was struggling to keep up a little, but she kept going till he told her to stop. "What the hell?"

"Ah, you saw them?" Ace asked, smiling a little, walking in wearing a track suit. "Jasper apparently is helping Akemi with her stamina." He said as he walked into the room.

"Why?"

"She doesn't like it when any of her friends are upset, so she wanted to do something about it." Ace said, shrugging. "Besides, she knows by now most of your complaints about her are well grounded enough." He added. "Jasper said she was bed ridden for a while when she was younger, after her parents died… Apparently that's what messed up her lungs."

"… So why is she pushing herself?!"

"Cause she wants to be able to keep up." Ace smiled. "That's what she told me. She doesn't want to lose to you."

"… Little brat." Katia mumbled, shaking herself off before she went to get her night jacket for running, hurrying outside as Ace rushed to follow.

* * *

Akemi braced herself against a tree, catching her breath while Jasper clocked her times. "Good you're getting a little faster." He said. It had been only an hour but Akemi's time had improved on every one of the 6 runs around the pokemon center she'd done. She was getting winded though, so she needed to stop. "I want you to take a break for 10 minutes, catch your breath." He stated, noting Katia and Ace coming out of the Pokemon Center. "I think your next trainer is ready to take over."

"Next…?" Akemi looked up and saw Katia, eyes widening. "Katia…?"

"You seriously thought you could get away with just training with pretty boy? Heck no!" she lightly karate chopped Akemi's head. "Finish catching your breath, shorty. We're gonna get serious after this."

"… Right." Akemi nodded, a fiery determination in her eyes that Katia smirked at.

* * *

The next morning, Akemi woke up early and joined Katia on her morning run. The brunette was impressed that Akemi was able to make it, though she trailed behind Katia quite a bit, she didn't stop running once. Once back at the pokemon center and after breakfast, Jasper brought up an issue he needed some help with. "Huh…? The Cerulean City Gym?"

"Yes you see… three sisters recently took over, and they're looking for challengers… but I'm apparently "too strong" and they're complaining that I'm not the average trainer that would come through the gym…"

"So what they want a challenge from someone who's just starting out?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, basically."

"It's a water type gym, right?" Akemi asked, having pulled out a guide book. "I'll challenge them."

"But it's a water field… does Riolu know how to swim?"

"Yeah… he does… and Ace can fly… but my newest party member is a Sandshrew so I doubt he'll want to…"

"You caught a Sandshrew? Can I see?" Jasper asked, smiling cheerfully. Akemi nodded and let Sanzu out of his pokeball, the yellow plated pokemon looking up at Jasper.

"San sand shrew?"

"Hey there." Jasper smiled. "So then what will you do, kiddo?" he asked Akemi as he pet the Sandshrew's head.

"… You have a Sandslash, don't you? He knows a move that will help, right?"

"Ahh, good you remembered~" Jasper chuckled. "Yes, I have him with me." He let out his Sandslash, who towered over Sanzu. "Sandslash, you're gonna help train this little one up using that special move, okay?"

"Sand sand slash." The pokemon looked to Sanzu, then nodded at his trainer before placing its claws gently on Sanzu's head. "Sand sand slash."

"San sand shrew!" Sanzu jumped enthusiastically and nodded at Sandslash.

"What move is it?" Ace asked.

"Haha, you'll see. Come on, let's go outside." Jasper replied, the others following. "Sandslash, you ready?"

"Sand sand slash." The pokemon readied himself.

"Shadow Claw. But only about 1/3 normal power."

"Sand slash!" the attack was unleashed, pluming up a huge dust cloud when it landed.

"Whoa…"

"Shadow Claw? But it's a Water-type gym isn't it?" Katia asked.

"Yep. But Shadow Claw can cut through water if you hone it, so it's good for pushing pokemon out of the water."

"And it's strong…" Akemi added, Sanzu looking mystified. "Alright, let's get started."

"Sand shrew!"

* * *

That evening, Sanzu and Akemi were both exhausted. While Sanzu took breaks from training with Sandslash, Katia had Akemi running laps around the Pokemon Center. Sanzu had gotten the start of his Shadow Claw, but he couldn't fully execute the move yet. "It's okay." Akemi pet his head. "You're doing so good, I'm proud of you."

"San sand shrew…" Sanzu nodded, smiling with his trainer as they caught their breath. Riolu walked over with Akemi's water bottle and some berries, Abel in tow. The two sat with their trainer and team mate and had a small snack together, since Ace started dinner a little late, it would be about an hour before he was ready to plate and serve.

"Thanks you two." Akemi pet both of their heads before biting into a Pecha berry. "Mm, this is good…"

"Wan wan wan." Riolu replied.

"Ohh, Jasper went to an open market? That must be nice…" she laid back on the ground and looked up at the darkening sky. "… Man… we're really gonna go challenge our second gym Riolu…"

"Wan wan." He laid back with her as Abel finished his berry and Sanzu looked up at the sky from where he sat.

"… Well, I can't let either of you fall behind on training either." She smiled. "Tomorrow we start a new regiment!" she threw her hand up towards the sky.

"Wan wan!"

"Pid pid!"

"San sand shrew!"

* * *

The next morning, the three older trainers woke, getting ready for their mornings when they looked outside, seeing Akemi. She was directing Abel as he used Steel Wing to go after Riolu while the little blue pokemon practiced his dodging. Sanzu was on the side, trying to get the Shadow Claw to work, getting me direction from his trainer before going back to the grind stone on his own. They practiced all morning till Ace called them for breakfast, Sanzu not quite getting the Shadow Claw out yet. "This afternoon we'll try again, okay?" Akemi pet his head, the pokemon nodding and smiling a little.

"YOU, THERE!" Akemi paused, hearing someone running over and turning to see a head of dark blue hair and feeling herself being tugged. "Come with me!"

"Oi, who are you?!" Katia exclaimed, Riolu growling and blocking the girl's way.

"Wan wan!"

"Out of my way!" the girl was about to push past Riolu when Akemi grabbed her arm and planted her feet, throwing the girl over her shoulder and made sure not to hurt her when she landed her on the ground.

"Don't drag people off… it's not nice… Now explain yourself or I'll shoulder throw you again."

"Owww…" The girl sat up, rubbing her head.

"Violet!" Jasper called, running over. "Ooh, shoulder flipped? I should have warned you about Akemi, I guess~"

"But Jasper, this is a serious emergency!" the girl Violet stated. "The exhibition battle opponent ran off, I NEED a replacement NOW!"

"Exhibiton…"

"Battle?"

"… Are you possibly Violet of the Cerulean Gym?" Akemi asked.

"Yes."

"… In this exhibition battle, I'll assume I have to fight one pokemon from all three of the Sensational Sisters… can I get a gym badge if I win?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, does that mean you'll help!?"

"Yes…"

"Then let's go!" Violet pulled her along after she returned Abel and Sanzu, Riolu jumping into her arms as she was dragged away. The others followed, bringing the breakfast sandwiches along since they were portable.

"Daisy! Daisy I found someone!" Violet exclaimed, rushing into the gym with Akemi in tow.

"Oh thank goodness, Violet you're a life saver!" the sunflower-orange haired girl exclaimed, hugging onto her sister. "I'll go tell Lily, go get her dressed."

"Dressed?"

"The exhibition battle is one where you need to be dressed up."

"Um… why?" Akemi asked, looking concerned.

"Because it just is! So please!"

"… So long as if I win I get a gym badge."

"Of course!"

"I've never seen a pokemon like that before, I'll have to make a really simple costume for it!" a pinkette stated, seeing Riolu in Akemi's arms. "What other pokemon do you have, we need to fit them too!"

"…" Akemi's only reaction to that obnoxiously pink hair was silence. Complete silence. She HATED that color on clothes, but to see it on anything but a pokemon or flowers made her cringe. "… too pink…"

"What?"

"She doesn't like pink, Lily." Jasper had finally caught up. "If you try and put her in pink she will likely shoulder throw you like she did to Violet earlier."

"Jasper! Good you're here, you need to dress up too! It would be rude of us to leave this girl alone on her side of the battle field!"

"… huh?"

* * *

"I'm seriously wearing this?" Akemi asked, standing there in a green and white dress, looking concerned. "I look silly…"

"You look fabulous! A perfect princess of the green meadows!"

"… A what?"

"And here, my dear, is your honorable knight!" Daisy dragged Jasper over in his outfit, similar in colors to Akemi's but meant to be a regal knight. "A perfect match!"

"Great job, Daisy~!" Lily exclaimed.

"10 minutes to show time!" Violet called.

"Oh good you two go wait for your call over there behind those doors! You'll hear our announcement!" the three ran off to get dressed. Akemi sighed, Riolu looking up at her from the chair he sat in, wearing a simple tunic. Sanzu had a similar tunic and Abel was wearing a scarf in the same color.

"… are you three gonna be able to battle in those?"

"Wan wan." Riolu beat his chest.

"Pid pid." Abel nodded, his scarf not inhibiting him at all. Sanzu though looked like he was trying to move, practicing his movement for the Shadow Claw.

"Sanzu?"

"San sand." He looked determined, staring at Akemi.

"Alright." She nodded. "If you have any trouble, I'll stop the fight for you." She pet his head, Sanzu nodding again.

"Your crown, princess." Jasper chuckled, handing Akemi the little tiara as the light for unlocking the doors went on and Daisy began her announcement. "You nervous?"

"… It's a battle, I'll be fine…" she sighed as the doors opened inward toward them and Daisy began announcing their half of the "story" so she and her sisters called it. It was kind of interesting… Three mermaids wanting to explore the land, only to meet opposition from a princess of green fields just beyond the beach who was informed of a possible invasion by a slightly nervous knight, in this case her Sandshrew who was wary of anything in the water. The Princess set up a barricade as the pokemon sent by the mermaids came closer to her fields and a battle commenced.

"And now ladies and gentlemen! Here is the princess and her royal knight guard!" the crowd cheered and Akemi went onto the trainer's platform, her pokemon taking their places on the land platform at her end of the pool. There was a ref at the middle point of the stage, ready to begin the battle. A girl, fairly young, obviously younger than the Sensational Sisters with orange hair began announcing the battle.

"This will be an exhibition battle between the Mermaid Sisters and Princess Akemi! Each side is allowed three pokemon, and the challenger is the only one allowed substitutions! When one side is no longer able to battle, the match will be decided! Begin!"

* * *

((Hooray I managed another chapter ; u ;'''

I hope you all like it~

-Winter Cheshire))


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Costume Battle Extravaganza**

* * *

Lily stepped up first, her Seel jumping from its pokeball and into the water. Akemi looked to her pokemon. "Abel." The pidgey nodded, flapping his wings and flying over to the battlefield. The two opponents stared each other down as the little orangette took a breath before uttering those words that would start the match.

"Seel versus Abel! Match, start!"

"Seel, Icy Wind!" The little white pokemon launched its attack.

"Dodge it!" Abel avoided the attack, Akemi not wasting a moment before calling her pokemon's move. "Gust!"

"Dive into the water!" The pokemon dove under water. "Now Ice Shard!" The attack came out of the water at frightening speed, Abel getting hit and faltering, landing on a platform. "Icy Wind once more!"

"Abel, Sand Attack!" The two attacks collided, creating a plume of cold sand that fell to the water, Abel vanishing in the chaos.

"Wh-where'd he go?" Lily looked around, seeing no sign of the flying type, Seel jumping onto a platform to get a better look around. "Seel, can you see it?" The pokemon shook its head, looking around still.

"Abel, Steel Wing!" Lily and Seel were both shocked when Abel came straight down from the ceiling, slamming into Seel and knocking it out on the platform. "Yes!"

"Seel is no longer able to battle! Abel wins!" Lily stepped back after recalling her pokemon, Akemi letting Abel land on her arm. The crowd was super enthusiastic about this battle, and it seemed like they wanted more.

"You okay?"

"Pid pid." Abel nodded, Akemi sighing in relief.

"Thank you… get some rest now." She returned him so he could rest his wing and turned to Sanzu. "You ready, Sanzu?"

"San sand shrew." The pokemon nodded, though he seemed nervous as he leapt down onto the platform below. Violet stepped up to the box, letting out a Shelder.

"Ready Shelder?"

"Shel shelder!"

"Shelder versus Sanzu! Begin!"

"Use Scratch!"

"Shelder, Protect!" Violet called, Akemi's eyes going wide as Sanzu was thrown back, almost sliding off the platform. "Now, under the water!" Shelder jumped in, Sanzu frantically looking around to try and figure out where the pokemon was coming from. "Icicle Spear!" Sanzu noticed a second too late, getting hit and looking frightened.

"Sanzu, calm down!" Akemi called. "It's okay, you can do this!"

"S-sand…" Sanzu looked up at his trainer, then nodded.

"Shelder, Icicle Spear again!"

"Use Rollout to dodge!"

"Sand!" Sanzu curled up and rolled out of the way as the attack flew right past him.

"Whoa, she used a move to dodge!?" Lily exclaimed.

"Now, Sanzu, Shadow Claw where the attack came from!" the little pokemon let the attack loose, sending the Shelder flying from the water.

"Oh! Shelder! Quick use Icicle Spear!"

"Fury Swipes!"

"Sand shrew!" Sanzu made contact, Shelder also making contact and both attacks flinging the opponent away from the collision. Shelder landed in the water, floating to the top of the water and Sanzu landing on the platform, both unconscious. Akemi jumped down from the trainers box and skipped over the little floating platforms to where her pokemon was, picking him up. "Sanzu?"

"Sand…?" Sanzu looked up at his trainer, smiling. "San sand sand shrew! Shrew!"

"You did~ I'm so proud~" she hugged her pokemon. "Come on, get some rest." She returned her pokemon before returning to the trainer box. "Sorry about that… shall we continue?"

"Yes, we shall." Daisy stepped up to the trainer box, smiling. "That was very gracious, Princess, tending to your fallen knight."

"I have a duty to perform to them, returning the favor for what they do for me." She stated. Riolu jumped onto the platform, taking his stance. He was all pumped up for the fight. His tail had been twitching the entire battle. "My last knight."

"And here is his opponent. Goldeen!" Daisy let Goldeen dive into the water beneath, smiling.

"Last match! Goldeen versus Riolu! Begin!" the little orangette called.

"Goldeen, Horn Attack!"

"Dodge it!"

"Keep it up Goldeen, don't give him an opening!" Goldeen came out of the water and nearly clipped Riolu with its attack every time, but the pokemon was dodging and watching for an opening. On one move, Goldeen over shot the jump and ended up going right over Riolu's head.

"There! Riolu, Force Palm!" Goldeen was flung across the arena, landing in the water

"Oh no, Goldeen!" The pokemon surfaced, looking at the opponent with a glare. "Goldeen, Water Pulse!" Daisy commanded, the pokemon flinging the attack at Riolu. "Follow with Horn Attack!"

"Riolu, brace for the Water Pulse!" Riolu closed his eyes and stood his ground, taking the water pulse. He opened his eyes again just as Goldeen came at him with Horn Attack. "Now! Grab Goldeen!"

"What?!" Riolu grabbed the fish pokemon by the horn as instructed.

"Now, rapid fire Force Palm!" Goldeen took hit after hit until Daisy uttered her next command.

"Goldeen, Supersonic!" The attack at close range was a direct hit, Riolu dropping the pokemon and covering his ears. He looked around in a daze.

"R-riolu!"

"W-wan…" he wandered back and forth on the platform in confusion.

"Goldeen, Horn Attack!"

"Riolu, dodge it!" But in his confusion, the pokemon was unable to dodge and got struck, sending him flying back onto another platform. "R-riolu!"

"Goldeen, Water Pulse!"

"Riolu!" the little blue pokemon snapped out of his confusion and managed to avoid the water pulse, Akemi sighing in relief as he got to his feet and looked up at her.

"Wan wan!" he thumped his chest with his fist, nodding at her.

"… Yeah you're right…" she muttered. "Sorry, I got flustered."

"Wan wan." He turned back to the opponents.

"Goldeen! Horn Attack! Finish it!"

"Riolu, Aura Sphere!" the attacks collided, but the outcome was obvious. Riolu stood firm while Goldeen floated in the water, unconscious.

"Riolu wins! Victory goes to the Princess of the Grasslands, Akemi!" The crowd cheered like crazy until Violet and Lily finished up the story, Akemi not waiting to take a bow and heading over to Riolu, hugging onto him.

"You did great." She said softly, Riolu smiling and hugging his trainer back. "I'm so proud of you."

"Wan wan!"

"Great job." Jasper said, having followed her down and getting her to stand for her bows. "How did you get Sanzu to pull off the move? I thought you told me he wasn't ready."

"He's more capable it seems in battle." She stated. "Works well under pressure, I guess?" she pondered. Abel and Sanzu were let out of their capsules for the final bow and then Akemi immediately went to the pokemon center, forgetting what she was wearing.

* * *

After returning the costume to the sisters, Akemi was sitting with Abel and Sanzu while Riolu shadow boxed when she noticed someone standing nearby. "Yes?"

"U-um… hi…" the orangette was familiar to Akemi.

"Oh, aren't you…?" she paused for a moment. "The referee form the gym battle?"

"R-right! I'm Misty!" she smiled. "I'm the fourth Sensational Sister!"

"Oh, fourth huh?" Akemi smiled at the girl, Riolu looking up at the newcomer as the other two pokemon tilted their heads at the girl. "What can I do for you?"

"You're really strong…" she stated. "How did you get like that?"

"It's honestly got very little to do with me…" she shook her head. "It's the hard work of the pokemon that makes us strong." She said as Misty stood there. "And it's their hard work that's gotten me this far…" she pet Abel's head and let Sanzu tap his tail on the ground as he clung to her arm. Riolu went to sit in Akemi's lap once he was done boxing. "And of course, it helps to make friends with your pokemon I think." She pet Riolu's head and the pokemon relaxed. "Are you looking to be a trainer too?"

"Yeah! I wanna be the best water type trainer in the world!"

"Haha, well with a legacy like the Cerulean Gym to live up to, I'm sure you'll do great." Akemi said, Misty nodding and thanking the girl before heading home, Akemi sighing and laying back on the ground once she was gone. "Hey, does giving advice make me sound obnoxious?"

"Wan." Riolu shook his head, turning to lay on his stomach next to his trainer. "Wan wan." He pat her tummy and she smiled.

"If you say so." She pet his head, waiting until Ace called her in for their late lunch to get up. "Let's go get something good to eat, okay?" she offered her hand to her Riolu, which he took and used to jump onto her shoulder.

"Wan wan~"

* * *

Jasper got out of bed that night, heading to get some water when he noticed that Akemi wasn't in her bed. He looked around for her inside and out until he noticed her in a tree with Riolu. He stood, listening for a while as the girl talked to her partner pokemon. "Mama and Luca were really strong, huh?" the girl was looking at a small book. "Oh, this one was taken at the Indigo Plateau." She said, Riolu nodding and staring wide eyed at the book with his trainer.

"Wan wan wan?"

"No, silly, Mama hadn't met Papa yet." She pet Riolu's head. "These were taken by Professor Willow. She and Mama used to travel together."

"Wan wan…" Riolu nodded, turning the page and pointing to something. "Wan wan… wan wan?"

"Yep, that's Papa." She said, petting Riolu's head. "Looks like Keii, right?"

"Wan." Riolu nodded. "Wan wan."

"Haha, right? Mama was pretty mean to Papa when they first met. She liked panicking him." She looked into the sky at the moon. "… But she loved him… and Papa loved her."

"Reminiscing, Akemi?" Jasper finally asked. The girl looked to where Jasper was standing, shocked that he was there. "Haha, don't worry I just got here… But you always look at the moon when you're thinking about your mother."

"I do?" she rubbed the back of her neck.

"I don't blame you. I heard from Keii that your mother had a reputation before she turned professor as a seriously tough trainer. Despite how delicate she looked, I hear she was really strong. The White Nightshade, I believe was her name?"

"Haha, you heard about that?" Akemi smiled, jumping down from the tree with Riolu. "Yeah… Mama was strong." She nodded. "I heard that she was called the White Nightshade because of her team and her attire. She used to wear almost all white and her pokemon all looked pretty delicate and ghostly." She flipped to a page in the book, showing Jasper.

"Oh, this is her?" Jasper asked, smiling. "She looks like you, but with white hair and clothes."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot." She replied, nodding. "And here's her team." She motioned to the image on the next page. It was Akemi's mother at age 16 with a team around her. Luca, her lucario, stood at her side with a white scarf and an almost shy posture. There was a shiny ninetales behind her, standing proud but looking ghostly thanks to its coloration. The woman was carrying a little shuppet in her arms and an altaria floated behind her. A froslass loomed next to the lucario, and at her side was an absol with a chip in its horn.

"Wow… your mom had a pretty stacked team…"

"Yep."

"But I thought Keii said she used to run with a luxray?"

"Oh, yeah, but Maguri was aggressive and he didn't really like sitting on the side lines waiting around for Mama since she liked taking her time." Akemi smiled. "Maguri was back home when this picture was taken, keeping an eye on the house for Mama."

"Oh, I see." He nodded. "I don't remember ever seeing these pokemon at the lab though, when I came to visit Keii."

"Oh there's a reason for that." She stated. "This Froslass works with my Uncle in colder research climates." He stated. "The Ninetales lives deep in the forest behind the house, no one's seen her in almost 2 decades. Mama said she was protecting her friends." She stated. "The altaria lives on the mountain ridge, she doesn't come down if she doesn't have to. Keii said he goes up to visit her when he has time. And the Absol lives with the others near to altaria. The shuppet hasn't been seen for a while, but I think he lives in the house somewhere… and well." She stopped for a moment, Riolu looking a little sad as her finger landed on Luca. "Luca and Mama…"

"It's okay." Jasper pat her head, knowing that it was hard for her to talk about it. "I know."

"… anyway, Mama was really strong. I'm gonna be strong too."

"You're on your way, definitely." Jasper nodded, encouraging the girl gently. "But you've got a ways to go." He added. "Now, get back to bed." He said, leading her back inside, Riolu jumping off of Akemi's shoulder to walk behind her, glancing back over his shoulder before he got inside, as though noting something following them. But he didn't see anything, so he continued to follow his trainer back to her room.

* * *

Akemi stood in her room the following morning, staring at her badge case. Two down, six to go, but all the same she knew it was going to be tough. She looked to Riolu, who was adjusting his pendant in the mirror. She chuckled, grabbing her pokemon and hugging him. "W-wan?" he looked up, slightly shocked at being picked up, but almost immediately after turning to hug onto his trainer. "Wan wan~"

"Morning, little one." She chuckled, nuzzling his cheek. "Are you ready to head out?"

"Wan wan?" he tilted his head.

"Yeah I know… but we have to head out soon, we're moving on to the next city."

"Wan wan!" Riolu jumped up onto her shoulder and tossed his fist into the air with child-like enthusiasm. Akemi smiled and grabbed her bag before heading out the door. Katia had just returned from her morning exercise and Ace had finished cooking breakfast, Jasper sipping on some tea.

"Morning, Akemi."

"Morning." She stated, taking her seat as Riolu moved to sit on the window sill. "Looks good."

"I'm glad to hear it~" Ace grinned. "Eat up, okay?"

"Okay." Riolu blinked as his trainer got her food, then grinned as she gave him his breakfast. "If you want more, ask okay?" she pet his head, Riolu nodding in response before he began to eat. The group had their breakfast, Riolu pausing mid-bite to turn over his shoulder and sense something watching again. His tail twitched, causing Akemi to look at him. "Riolu? What's wrong?" she asked, the pokemon still staring outside. "Riolu?"

"Wan… wan wan."

"What? Something's watching?" she asked, looking out the window. But she saw nothing. The others looked up and wondered what was wrong, but Riolu soon calmed down. "It's gone, huh?"

"Wan wan." Riolu nodded, getting back to his food. Akemi wondered what could have set her partner off like that, but she knew that if it came back, Riolu would know.

"What was that, Akemi?" Ace asked.

"… Riolu said something was watching, but I don't know what it was." She replied, petting Riolu's head as he finished his food. "It freaked him out a little."

"Something watching?" Katia asked, her toast in hand. "You're being paranoid, who would follow a bunch of trainers around?" she asked.

"… I don't know."

"Well don't worry too much. Eat something." Jasper stated, Akemi nodding in agreement before picking up her hot chocolate. "So, where to next?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Next we're heading onto Route 5, right?" Ace asked, taking out the map. "Yeah, Route 5. It leads down towards Celadon City."

"Another gym battle, huh?" Katia asked.

"… I guess."

"What's wrong?" Ace asked Akemi.

"… Nn, Riolu got nervous so I'm feeling it too." Akemi stated, Riolu moving to sit in his trainer's lap to calm her back down. "It's fine, it'll pass."

"Geez, you're a scardey cat." Katia said, Riolu turning to narrow his eyes at the teen a little, but stopping when Akemi pet his head again. "It's fine."

"… I hope you're right." Akemi replied, sipping from her cup before looking out the window again.

* * *

Nearby a man wearing a trench coat stood in the shadows of a building, waiting. A buzzing noise flew by and landed on the metal platform he was holding. A little flying robot with what looked like a camera lens looked up at the man. "You found the kid?" the robot projected an image from its back, showing Akemi's group having breakfast. "Yeah that's it… the little blue thing." The image zoomed in. "Riolu, huh?" he paused the tape on the image of Riolu. "This little thing is worth millions to collectors outside of Almia… and one just so happens to show up in Kanto." The robot folded itself up and placed itself into the metal platform. "Time to go hunting." He stated, a pair of pokeballs at his hip opening up and letting loose a Scyther and a Kadabra. "We'll take them out once we're out of the city, this is your target." He showed them the image of Riolu. They both nodded. "The girl gets in your way, get rid of her." He returned them to their capsules before leaving the alley, heading towards Route 5.

* * *

(Finally another chapter up, sorry for the delay ; v ;''

A bad guy appears! o A o

What will happen to Akemi and her friends? What will happen to Riolu? Please stay tuned!

-Winter Cheshire)


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: A Poacher's Ploy**

* * *

The group of Katia, Ace, Jasper, and Akemi were heading along Route 5 and chatting away. Katia and Jasper got into a little argument about which was the stronger trainer, Ace was trying to make them change the subject, and Akemi was hanging back and trying not to get involved. Riolu sat on her shoulder, trying to soothe his trainer's evolving headache. "Wan wan…" he mumbled, concerned for his trainer's health.

"I'm okay, Riolu." She stated softly. "Don't worry."

"Wan…" he pouted, glaring at Katia and the others a little. "Wan wan!" he exclaimed, jumping off of Akemi's shoulder and going to confront the others. "Wan wan! Wan wan wan!"

"Whoa, what's gotten into him?"

"He's upset, I think." Jasper stated. "Your constant need to pick a fight and bicker with me like an old married couple makes Akemi feel unwell, so Riolu is upset and wants you to stop." He stated.

"Who's an old married couple?!" Katia exclaimed, looking angry.

"Wan wan!"

"You wanna go at it, shrimp?!" Katia exclaimed, looking like she might actually be picking a fight with Riolu. But Riolu was swiftly picked up by his trainer and he calmed down quickly.

"Leave Riolu alone, Katia." Akemi stated, walking off back along the Route. But it suddenly became foggy and the rest of the group lost sight of her.

"Man, you've really gone and done it now, Katia." Jasper sighed. "I can't see a thing. And we've lost Akemi. Can you imagine how panicked and upset Keiichi would be if he found out?" he asked, Katia getting frustrated.

"Shut your face pretty boy!" she exclaimed, running off into the forest after the girl, Jasper and Ace being left behind.

"Oh man… this is bad…" Ace sighed. "What do we do?"

"Well for starters. I think we should look for them. But it might be better if we call Keiichi so he can give them both a good long lecture about getting mad at one another." Jasper grinned. "Come on, back to the town."

"Oh, okay…" he stated, following the older boy back to the town. "You sure they'll be okay?"

"Yes, I think Akemi and Katia might need some time to… talk things out, is all." He grinned. "Come along, Ace. We'll let the ladies work out their differences~"

* * *

Akemi stopped at the base of a tree and sighed, the fog having gotten too thick for her to see through. "This is bad." She mumbled, looking around. "I can't see…"

"Wan… wan wan." Riolu clung to her, looking around in a wary manner.

"What's wrong?" Akemi asked, hearing something nearby. She clung to Riolu and climbed up into the tree, watching below carefully. But she didn't see anything, just kept hearing voices. She suddenly heard a scream. "… Katia?" she looked around, trying to find her friend. "Katia?!" she called, Riolu looking panicked.

"Wan wan." He tried to cover her mouth, but a confuse ray flew at her. She barely dodged and then jumped down, hiding behind another tree with Riolu.

"Kadabra…" a pair of eyes came into view, then a new pokemon that she hadn't seen before. Also a Scyther came into view.

"What are those things?" she asked, looking worried.

"Wan wan…" Riolu clung to his trainer, seeming a little bit scared.

"It's okay, Riolu." Akemi pet his head soothingly. "I'll protect you." She added, hearing another set of footsteps. The two pokemon vanished and just beyond them was Katia, looking exhausted and beaten up. "Katia…?" she turned the corner and looked around, seeing no sign of the pokemon that had just been there. She rushed over to the brunette and knelt next to her. "You're hurt." She mumbled, grabbing her bag and preparing to get some bandages, hands shaking a little.

"Quick, you have to run!" The girl said in a harsh whisper. "Those pokemon are dangerous! Go for help!"

"… Katia?" Akemi seemed unsure, but seeing her injured friend was worrying her. "What are you…? What happened?" she asked, clutching the bandages in hand.

"Hurry, leave Riolu here and go get help! They took my pokemon and they're going to try and take yours too! Riolu might be the only one who can defend himself!"

"... There's no way." Akemi mumbled, gripping Riolu's paw and backing up, the little one climbing onto her shoulder again. "Katia would never tell me something like that… she knows me well enough to know I'd never leave Riolu alone in a situation like this…" She stated, clicking open her pokeball and letting out Abel. "Quick, Sand Attack!"

"Pid!" Abel whipped up a huge sandstorm and allowed Akemi time to escape, the illusion of Katia being dispelled and the Kadabra coming forward as Akemi escaped into the wooded area.

* * *

The pair arrived at a safe spot and Akemi was trembling, Riolu trying to calm her down.

"Wan wan…"

"I'm okay." She whispered. "… I… I panicked when I saw Katia, is all." She said softly, shaking her head. "No, that wasn't Katia." She told herself. "It was an illusion… that pokemon must be some sort of psychic type…" she hid her face in her hand and fell to her knees, trying to regain her composure. Seeing anyone injured like that brought up a whole bunch of terrible memories for the bluenette, it made her scared and it made her sick. She could only remember what happened to her parents… to her home and all those pokemon. She felt herself shaking like a leaf, Riolu worrying and trying to soothe her.

"Wan wan…" he placed his hand on her heart and tried to get her attention, but her tears started to fall and she fell to a sitting position. "Wan wan wan…"

"I'm sorry, Riolu." She whispered, curling up a little. "Just… just give me a minute, okay?" she hugged him tight, Riolu hugging onto her head and hoping that she would stop crying soon.

'It's okay…' a soft voice said to Akemi. 'Please don't cry, Akemi…' it told her, the girl looking up a little and looking to Riolu, staring into his little red eyes. 'I'm sorry… how do I help?' the voice asked.

"… Riolu…?"

"Wan wan?" the tone was almost identical to the voice she heard.

"… Try talking without your mouth, kiddo." She said, Riolu nodding as the voice came back.

'Why are you crying? Are you scared of something?' the voice asked.

"No… I'm okay." She said weakly.

'But you're still crying.' Riolu wiped her tears away and pat her head. 'No more crying.' He smiled, patting her head.

"… Hehe, you're really too good at this, RIolu. You're getting stronger every day." She said softly, hugging him again before she stood up. "That pokemon seems to know I don't handle injured friends well…" she told Riolu. "Keep an eye out… we have to hurry and get out of this fog." She added.

'Right.' Riolu nodded his head, grasping his pendant before climbing onto Akemi's shoulder again, keeping his eyes open and his ears perked for presences in the fog.

* * *

Katia rushed through the woods, nearly slamming into a couple of trees in her search for Akemi. "Oi, brat! Where are you?!" she called, wondering where the little bluenette had gone. "Akemi?!" she called, sighing when she got no response. "Damn… why does she always run off like this?" she asked, pausing when she heard something coming her way. She ducked behind a tree and waited, hearing it first. Wingbeats? She waited a little longer and sure enough, a Scyther flew by, seeming to be searching for someone. Katia remained quiet till the green pokemon was far enough away before she continued searching. She let out Murkrow, nodding to her pokemon before they quietly went searching the forest again for Akemi.

* * *

Jasper and Ace ended the call with Keiichi to let him know that when Katia and Akemi came back that he needed to remind them to "play nice". Ace was still worried though, as Jasper sipped at his vending machine drink. "I still have a bad feeling." He told the boy, Jasper smiling still.

"Don't worry, those two will be okay." He chuckled. "I mean after all, its not like there are poachers out there in those woods, right?" he looked up at the tv, staring as it showed a newscaster announcing the possible sighting of a poacher on the route they were on just earlier that morning. Both he and Ace stared before Ace turned to Jasper.

"Uh, should we go help them now…?"

"No… but I'm going to have one of my pokemon go make sure everything's okay…" Jasper let out a Haunter, the pokemon chuckling. "Don't laugh, go check on Keii's kid sister for me." He told the pokemon, handing it a berry. "And don't scare her. If she needs help, do as she says."

"Haun ter." It grinned before vanishing into the shadows, Ace shocked that Jasper wasn't more concerned after hearing about the poacher.

"Why are you sending Haunter?"

"Well it would be pointless for me to send anyone else. Haunter will find her the fastest." Jasper replied, taking another sip of his drink. "If you worry about her that much, you're welcome to go look for her. But chances are you'll end up lost in the fog too." He told the boy. "I'm making sure that if she comes back, she'll have someone waiting for her, is all." He added. "It's not polite to leave a lady without a companion."

"… You scare me sometimes." Ace plopped down and slumped a little, exhausted from worrying. "If she's not back by lunch, we're going after her."

"Haha, she won't thank you for that. She probably wants to have some time to herself anyway. I'm sure if Katia finds her she'll complain about her worrying too much."

* * *

Akemi and Riolu had been wandering a while, the girl taking refuge in another tree and sitting with Riolu watching her back. "What do you think they wanted, anyway?" she asked her partner. "They were going through a lot of trouble to try and trick us."

'… I dunno… maybe they're poachers?' Riolu asked, glaring out into the fog to try and see something or someone approaching. But the fog was just too dense, and he wasn't the best at sensing auras other than Akemi's. His ear twitched, Akemi glancing over to where Riolu had turned to. 'Something's there…' he stood up and prepared for a fight when he was suddenly knocked out of the tree.

"Riolu!" Akemi tried to grab her partner's paw but she missed. "Riolu!" when he didn't respond and she heard a skirmish, she jumped down from the branch only to get herself cornered by a Scyther who'd been waiting. "Get away from me!" she kicked at the Scyther, who seemed surprised at the girl's lack of fear of its blades. "Riolu?!"

"Wan wan!" a blast of blue energy was barely visible through the fog, Riolu coming running as the Kadabra from earlier appeared. Akemi jumped away from Scyther and picked up Riolu before rushing away from these two pokemon. 'They're a poacher's pokemon.' Riolu told Akemi as she continued to run. 'They're "following orders". Said their trainer wants them to catch a rare pokemon.' He added, Akemi feeling her partner trembling.

"… They're after you." She whispered, Riolu looking up at her. "… We have to get out of this forest before they find us again." She added, glancing around for a second. There was a fork in the road, and she didn't know which way to go.

'Why are they after me?' Riolu asked, seeming to not understand that he was a very rare pokemon, especially in another region apart from Almia.

"… I'll explain once we're out of this situation… but basically, no one in Kanto ever really sees Riolu." She pat his head gently, trying to calm down and choose a path. "… We'll go left." She told him, earning a nod before they rushed down the path. After a few minutes though, Akemi felt weak and she had to stop, leaning back against a tree to catch her breath.

'Are you okay?' Riolu looked up at her, concerned for his trainer.

"I'm okay… We can't stop, we have to keep moving." She looked around, not knowing when or where the two pokemon would come from next. She was about to take a step when she felt her knees give out and she fell to the ground, exhausted.

'Akemi!' Riolu grabbed onto her arm, trying to figure out what he could do to help. He heard the wingbeats of that scythe coming closer, looking around in a minor panic.

"It's okay… I'm okay." She got up, picking up her partner again before hurrying along the path. "I made your mama a promise… that I'd protect you with my life." She told him, Riolu shaking his head and eyes starting to get watery. He clung to her, trying to say something but words wouldn't come. "I promised, Riolu…"

"Wan wan." He gripped her shirt, trying to be brave, but he couldn't get the words to come again. He hid with her behind another tree when they heard the wingbeats again.

"They're catching up… this is bad…" she mumbled, seeing something forming a shadow that was coming towards them from the opposite direction. "They cornered us…" she hugged Riolu tighter, nuzzling his cheek. "Sorry… I'm not strong enough…" She heard the two pokemon encroaching when suddenly a voice rang out from the forest.

"Murkrow, Drill Peck! Venonat, Psybeam!" Akemi looked up to see Venonat fending off the Kadabra and turning to see Murkrow hitting his target with his attack as well. "Akemi! Move!" The girl ran towards the voice, running straight into Katia. "What the heck are you thinking! This is why you can't run off like that!" she scolded, hugging the bluenette so tight Akemi's air was just about cut off.

"S-sorry…" she was able to get a breath in once Katia loosened her grip. "Thanks…" she looked at Riolu who was trying to wipe his forming tears away. "Hehe, and sorry to you too, Riolu…" she hugged him tighter, glancing back at where Katia's two pokemon were fighting off the enemy.

"Let's move!" Katia said, recalling her Venonat before Murkrow flew towards them and they all rushed off, heading for the edge of the forest again to get back to town. Kadabra and Scyther were about to follow when suddenly a hypnosis hit them both, Haunter emerging from behind a tree and chuckling before following the girls silently back to town.

* * *

Once back at town, Akemi told Ace and Jasper what had happened, clinging to Riolu the whole time. Ace panicked over her for a few moments to make sure she was okay before rushing to make food, Jasper sitting with her as Katia went to blow off steam outside by taking a short run. The brunette couldn't believe that a poacher would be so bold as to attack in broad daylight like this. But then she paused, realizing something. "No… not an ordinary poacher…" she slowed down and looked to the forest, glaring. "This guy… knew to wait till she was alone… and even then he had the pokemon do all the work, he never got involved himself…" she mumbled. "A hunter… A real professional…" she scoffed. "Nah, a professional creep that's what he must be." She told herself as she went back to running, not noticing the pair of eyes watching her from a nearby restaurant.

"A professional creep, hah." He laughed, turning to look at the forest and noting his pokemon waiting in the shadow of some trees. He got up and paid his bill, walking out without a word before he met up with the Kadabra and Scyther. "You two couldn't grab that little pokemon, huh?" he shook his head. "Well whatever, we'll just have to change tactics." He smirked, returning them both to their capsules before turning and heading to the pokemon center.

* * *

((It's been so long-

I apologize for the delay, but I hope that you all enjoy it~

-Winter Cheshire))


End file.
